The excitement of a 1-0 win was enhanced by our first use of our ‘state of the art’ enormous screen and surround sound.

Our hall is the centre point of our school and needed a bit of an overhaul.  It now looks much improved with new paintwork, new curtains and a new polished floor.

It also has a wonderful audio – visual system and big screen.  Apart from enjoying clearer sounds, we can also use our big screen for a huge range of visual things such as TV, video clips, photos and so forth.

Published on Monday 28 May 2012 17:45

A headteacher is performing at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games after applying to take part ‘on a whim’.

Dave Miller, of Pebble Brook School in Aylesbury, will be character acting under the guidance of Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle.

But he has been sworn to secrecy about exactly what will be happening during the showpiece event at the 80,000 capacity stadium and in front of billions of viewers worldwide.

Some 10,000 volunteer performers will be taking part in the opening ceremony, with Mr Miller spending around 15 minutes on show with about 600 others in his group.

He said: “I will be doing character acting under the directorship of Danny Boyle but I can’t reveal any details for fear of finding myself locked up in the Tower of London.

“I applied on a whim but didn’t expect to get the part, I just did it for the experience.

“I had a couple of auditions in February for the creative movement and performance side of things and I got selected. It’s very exciting. It’s a really different experience and a fantastic opportunity for me.”

Mr Miller has 80 hours of rehearsals to go through before the big day on July 27, with the first one inside the Olympic Stadium on June 16.

The headteacher of the special school has experienced amateur dramatics before but working under Academy Award winner Mr Boyle has been a particularly enjoyable experience.

Mr Miller said: “Danny Boyle is there all the time giving us directions and tips.

“He has been fantastic and is a really amiable guy.

“He told us after two years of preparing for this he’s really enjoying working with the volunteers. The whole experience is something I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Meanwhile, the Chair of Governors at Pebble Brook, Annie Andrews, will be running with the Olympic flame in Oxford on July 9.

She said: “It’s brilliant to be running with the flame. I’ve been watching it on the TV and it’s all very exciting. I’m going to keep the torch and bring it into the school the following day so the children can have the experience of running with it, too.”

Mr Stewart and Mr Chappell

Mr Stewart and Mr Chappell completed the Nomads Going Beyond Cyclo Sportive on the 17th June. This was a short tour of Herts and Beds made all the more enjoyable with proceeds from the event going to UK charity Teach Africa (http://teach-africa.org/) providing an opportunity for schooling to some of the brightest children from Nairobi slums.

Below is the official wording from Bucks County Council:-

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education and Skills will take the following decision on or after Tuesday 13 March 2012.

Agreement to Redesignate Pebble Brook School

Reference Number: DLES06.12

Decision To Be Taken: Cabinet Member is recommended to approve the re-designation of Pebble Brook School as a co-educational community day special school specialising in Communication and Interaction Difficulties with effect from 1st April 2012. Cabinet Member is also recommended to approve the addition of post 16 provision and consequent expansion of the school.

On two recent Saturdays, for four hours each time, a group of volunteers packed bags, offering help to the public in exchange for a small donation.

Overall we raised over £500.

Congratulations to all.

Building Work
Those of you who have been in to School recently will have seen that our building work is progressing nicely. Foundations are in for the new block and the Staff Room and the car park look to be not far from completion. I would like to say at this point how much I appreciate all the hard work that all the staff at the School did in preparing for this period of upheaval. I would also particularly like to note how well our pupils have coped with what is a completely different school building at the moment. It is good fun watching the new school grow brick-by-brick and it is going to be fantastic when it is finished.

School Hall
Our School Hall has now been painted and has new curtains and a brilliant new audio visual system installed. We are grateful for the efforts of the new recruits at RAF Halton who spent a day doing our painting. Our Hall is a central feature of the School and it feels good to have a much-improved facility.

Bag Pack
Our School Bag Pack at Morrisons raised almost £275. Thank you to all the pupils and staff who took part. For your information, there is another bag pack at the same Morrisons store on Saturday 16th June between 11-3 and we would welcome as many pupils and families as possible.

Around School
Our pupils continue to take part in some new ideas and continue with some long-standing initiatives. The Gardening Club have really done a fantastic job in front of the Dining Room where you can see a well-tended garden and allotment. We also have an allotment in Waddesdon behind the Lion Pub which is coming on nicely too. We have formed a close relationship with the PACE Centre in Aylesbury. PACE is a school for young people with severe physical disabilities and groups of our pupils have completed several successful visits. They are learning to support young people at PACE by offering practical support and are also learning themselves about life in a different school.

Reading
Thank you to those of you who have responded to the ‘Here to Read’ scheme. We are doing lots more reading around school and have created a Reading Room in the corridor in a quiet part at the back of the School. We hope our pupils will enjoy this new area.

Pebble Brook’s Got Talent
We recently held our own version of Britain’s Got Talent in the School Hall and saw some brilliant performances. Congratulations to Tyler who was third with his ‘Rocky Dance’ and Oliver who was second with ‘Grease Lightening’. The overall winner was Rachel who stood in front of the whole school and sang solo. She did it beautifully, congratulations!

Friends of Pebble Brook School
Some of our staff have been raising money for the School. Congratulations to Jackie Robson for completing the London 10K and to Joc Chappell who has been training for his next big sponsorship event – he completed the Tan Hill 200 which was 125 miles up and down the Yorkshire Dales, climbing to 4,500 metres.

You may have seen an article in the Bucks Herald about Annie Andrews, our Chair of Governors, carrying the Olympic Torch and my own involvement in the Olympic Ceremony, all part of the varied life at Pebble Brook School!

School Notices
Please ensure all school uniform is labelled and please check your child’s uniform regularly to make sure he/she has the right one!

Please notify the School Office on the first day of a pupil’s absence.

With best wishes,

David Miller

Some of our pupils have taken part in Junior and Senior football tournaments at Garston Manor during February.

As part of our Art curriculum, Year 9 have visited the Wycombe Museum to look at chairs, Year 10 have been to the Aylesbury Museum to see 100 local paintings and Year 11 have been felt-making.

Year 10 went toLondonto theImperialWarMuseumthis week as part of their studies about the Holocaust.  It was a really interesting and moving experience.  We were privileged to meet and talk to a woman called Cirla Lewis who as a young girl spent the whole of World War II hiding in a house inBelgiumfrom the enemy.

On Wednesday pupils from Years 7, 8 and 10 visited theSirHenryFloydGrammar Schoolto support stalls and activities set up by pupils there to raise money for the charity Every Child.

On the same day Year 9 pupils were lucky enough to see a super performance of “Matilda the Musical”, based on Roald Dahl’s book, at the Cambridge Theatre inLondon.  They all thoroughly enjoyed it.

The whole school had a fantastic trip to Chessington World of Adventure yesterday – what fabulous weather!

Ten pupils will be going for a day’s fishing later in April.  The Masonic Trout and Salmon Fishing Charity are kindly organising the day again this year, which will be atWestWycombePark.  Details will be given to those pupils next term.

We will be holding our very own “Pebble Brook’s Got Talent” – dates for auditions and the final to follow!

Friends of Pebble Brook School

Our cake sale last week to raise funds for FOPBS went very well, raising over £50!  Thank you to everyone who supported us.

Dragons Den

You may have read about

Pebble Brook’s very own version of Dragons Den a few weeks ago in the Bucks Herald.  Here are some of our pupils’ accounts of the event:

“In Core Skills, Years 10 and 11 had to make clocks with a theme.  We were in groups and we had to face the ‘Dragons Den’ and give a presentation about our clocks.  Our group was called ‘Animal Time’ and we had to talk about the profits we would make.  We made an advertising video to show them.  We showed the Dragons the video then we had to talk to them as a group.  It was very nerve-wracking at the start but we all did well.  We would like to thank Andrew Napier, Graham Woodroffe, Gary Hunt and Mr Miller for joining in.” (Tamara/Louise/ Matthew).

“In Core Skills lessons Years 10 and 11 have been doing a challenge.  We had to make clocks and we could decide as a group what we would make.  We used the computer to find a design and we based our one on Modern Warfare games 1, 2 and 3.  It went well with the Dragons.  We walked in and talked to them about what we based it on and where we are at and then we came out and they were very impressed and we won!” (Joe/Asif/

Conor/Luke).

School Notices

Letters have gone home about Cookery lessons telling pupils what they will be cooking next term.  Please note that the cost of each lesson is now £1.50 as the ingredients will be more expensive.

The cost of school dinners remains at £1.80 / £9 per week / £61.20 for the half term.  Cheques are welcome.  Any money sent in to school should be in an envelope with your child’s name and surname on the envelope.

Equality Act

The following is a note from our Governing Body on the Equality Act:

The Governing Body is to ensure that the recommendations in the Spring 2011 appendix to the Equality Act 2010 have been undertaken.  These recommendations are: (1) Positive action for recruitment and promotion. (2) Equality Duty.

The three aims of this duty are:

(1) Eliminating discrimination and other conduct prohibited by the Act.

(2) Advancing equality of opportunity between people who have a prohibited characteristic and people who do not.

(3) Fostering good relations across all characteristics.

The published aim of Pebble Brook Governors in relation to the Equality Act 2010 is: “To use data to plan appropriate intervention strategies through a behaviour support system”.

Goodbye

We said goodbye this week to Sue Hammond who has been at Pebble Brook for 15 years.  We would like to thank her for all her hard work and dedication to the school and wish her a wonderful retirement.

Wishing you all a good Easter break.  We look forward to seeing pupils back in school on Monday 16^th April.

With best wishes from all pupils and staff at Pebble Brook.

School Events

On 1^st February a volunteer from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution came in to school for a special assembly to talk to pupils about the work of the RNLI and was very pleased to receive the donation we had raised from our “Wet Weather” mufti day.

Dragons  Den

today Years 10 and 11 took part in a “Dragons Den” activity kindly organised by Mr Stewart.  Pupils spoke to a panel consisting of past and present business people from the community, and our own Headteacher, about clocks they had designed.  It sounds like a great experience for them all.

Manor Adventure

On the first day back after half-term (Monday 20^th February) pupils from Years 9, 10 and 11 will be off for an action-packed few days at Manor Adventure nearLudlow inShropshire.  Manor Adventure is set in the 100 acre grounds of Culmington Manor. The excellent facilities include a high ropes course, an outdoor swimming pool(!), an indoor rifle range and an artificial caving system.  We wish those pupils a brilliant week – let’s hope the weather warms up for them!

School Notices

Unfortunately there will be no Messy Chefs Club after half-term.

There are still a few parents who haven’t paid DT money.  We would be grateful if you could send that in as soon as possible.

Pupils should bring in £1.25 for each Cookery lesson they do, or you can pay in one go if you prefer, otherwise they will not be able to take food home with them.  A schedule of when Cookery lessons take place is available from school.

The cost of school dinners will remain at £1.80 per day.  For the whole of next half-term the amount due is £52.20.

Friends of Pebble Brook School

Shrek the Musical

There is a letter attached about an exciting opportunity to see Shrek the Musical in London.  We have been able to reserve some tickets at greatly-reduced prices through Friends of Pebble Brook School.  If you are interested in coming along, please return the form to school as soon as possible if you would like to guarantee tickets.

Other Notices

There will be a free taster swimming lesson session on Thursday 16^th February from 9-11 am at the Stoke Mandeville Stadium.  For more details, ring Chris Hawkes on 01296 484848.

Pebble Brook News

From next half-term, Pebble Brook News will be published half-termly.  We will of course keep you informed about school activities through letters and messages home.

Have an enjoyable half-term!

With very best wishes from all pupils and staff at our school

Editors: Veronica Cordery & Elaine Nelson

Basketball Tournament

On Wednesday this week pupils from Years 8 and 7 spent the day at Beaconsfield School taking part in a Basketball Tournament.  By all reports, it was a very enjoyable day.

Today we had a Mufti day in school, with pupils wearing “wet weather gear” and donating money towards the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, a fantastic charity that is funded totally by voluntary contributions.  Thank you all for your donations, over £50  was raised.  We will be having a special assembly next Wednesday, with a member of the RNLI coming in to talk about the work of the organisation and to collect our donation.

Riding for the Disabled Association

For more than 40 years, RDA has been delivering opportunities for therapy, achievement and enjoyment for people to take part in riding, carriage driving and vaulting activities. The focus of their work is to ensure that each individual has the chance to derive a direct therapeutic benefit and the opportunity to achieve their personal goal.

We are lucky enough that some of our pupils will be given the opportunity to have one term of riding lessons at RAF Halton’s Saddle Club thanks to RDA.

School Notices

Unfortunately there will be no Messy Chefs Club this half-term.  We hope to be able to re-arrange it at a later date and will inform pupils who have expressed an interest.

We still have unclaimed a green skull and crossbones design bag found in the hall.

There are still a few parents who haven’t paid DT money.  We would be grateful if you could send that in as soon as possible.

Pupils should bring in £1.25 for each Cookery lesson they do, otherwise they will not be able to take food home with them.  Please send in any containers that have been borrowed from school.  We would also be very grateful for any large, good quality sweet, cake or biscuit tins you could donate to school (perhaps left over from Christmas).

A reminder that fruit is available to buy from the school Kitchen at morning break for 20p.

Inset Day

There will be a school inset day on Monday 26^th March when pupils should not come in to school.  A letter was sent home about this earlier in the week.

Friends of Pebble Brook School

Anyone wishing to come on to the Committee of Friends of Pebble Brook School, please write to Mrs Robson at the school or email: office@pebblebrook.bucks.sch.uk

Mr Chappell would like to thank everyone very much who bought raffle tickets, provided prizes and sponsored his Big Bike Ride.  He did complete 130 miles and the money is coming in quickly.  We have £125 already and we are expecting a total of over £200.  We had so many prizes, there will be another raffle draw on the Friday before half-term, so keep your raffle tickets and/or buy some more.  Thank you!

With very best wishes from all pupils and staff at our school

Editors: Veronica Cordery & Elaine Nelson

We would like to welcome to Pebble Brook several new staff: our Head-teacher, Dave Miller, and our Music teacher, Leah Mills.  We have also recently appointed a new LSA, Steve Blick, and a new Kitchen Assistant, Chadia Zouhri.

School Events

On Thursday 5^th January Years 8 & 9 went to Hampstead Theatre to watch a production called “Beasts and Beauties”, telling six different traditional fairy tales.  The pupils experienced magic and joy, fear and fury, laughter and love and many things ridiculous and rude!  It was great!  Thanks to Mrs Robson for organising that.

On another note, Hampstead Theatre is where the new star of “War Horse” (the latest Spielberg film) called Jeremy Irvine was working when he auditioned for the part of Albert in the film.  Year 11 have been lucky enough to have had questions answered by Jeremy and by the time you receive this, will have been to the first showing of “War Horse” at the Odeon Cinema in Aylesbury, (together with Year 10).  The cinema very kindly granted us a private showing in the morning, for which we are very grateful!

The film is based on Michael Morpurgo’s book about a farm boy who trains a plough horse which is then sold and sent to war and what happens to them when the boy follows the horse to the front during World War I.

On Tuesday this week a representative from our local NatWest branch came in to school for a special Assembly to talk to all pupils about ‘School Money’.  This is a school bank service run by and for students at the school and helps pupils gain some experience of managing money.  ‘School Money’ is part of ‘Money Sense for Schools’, a financial education programme that aims to teach personal money management and enterprise skills to students in schools.  You will have received details of this and a form to complete if your child wishes to open an account.

School Clubs

We continue to run Sound Studio, Messy Chefs, Film Club and Jewellery Club, and hope to have the Cycle Club up and running in the near future.  Letters about Messy Chefs went out at the beginning of this half-term and only pupils who have returned their forms will be able to take part.

Lost Property

A green bag with skull and crossbones design has been found in the hall, with a grey t-shirt, top and trousers inside.  Please contact the school office if it belongs to you.

We have also found some purple spectacles in the car park, but unfortunately these are beyond repair.

Dinner Money

The cost of school dinners remains £1.80 per day, or £9 per week.  The cost for this half-term is £50.40 and money for any absences will be credited next half-term.

Friends of Pebble Brook School

We are hoping to launch a new initiative, ‘Friends of Pebble Brook School’.  All pupils, staff, parents, families, friends and Governors of the school would automatically become members.  We would adopt Articles of Association and raise the profile of our school within the local community and beyond and organise fundraising and other activities and events.  If this goes ahead, the current School Fund will be closed and all monies transferred to the new ‘Friends of Pebble Brook School’ account.  A letter home with more information will follow next week.

As part of our fundraising efforts, we are very pleased to hear that Mr Chappell has been accepted to ride a cycle endurance event of 125 miles on Saturday 21^st January.

Pupils in 7C and others will be helping to raise money for school funds during break times from Monday 16^th January.  Bring your pennies and enjoy:

• Chomping Chocolates
• Marvellous mystery raffle prizes
• Cunning competition to guess ‘How many miles did Mr Chappell record in his training diary last year?’
• Sign up to sponsor Mr Chappell for the event

Any donations of unwanted Christmas presents as prizes would be gratefully received.

We get tired just thinking about 125 miles but it’s a great thing to do! Good luck with the weather, Mr Chappell.

With very best wishes from all pupils and staff at our school.

Editors: Veronica Cordery & Elaine Nelson