We celebrated Harvest by thinking about the things we are thankful for. Students and parents came in and joined in with singing and dancing to Harvest songs, watching a sketch about helping others and listening to poems read by the students. Staff and students brought in tinned and packet food that we donated to a local food bank.
Friends of Mary Elliot – Walsall 10k – News from Martyn, School 
Driver:
For those of you not on Friends of Mary Elliot Facebook page. Just to let you know Vicky, Sheryl, my wife Colleen and myself completed the Walsall Rotary 10K run yesterday to raise some money to support local families suffering with leukaemia and Friends Of Mary Elliot (FOME).
Marie has been coordinating sponsorship within the school. Thank you to all those who have sponsored the team for their run. Hopefully we will be able to give a figure raised soon.
I completed the course in 57 minutes which was a personal best so I was happy with that and actually came 7th in my category.
My wife Colleen beat me by some distance in 50 minutes, came 1st in her category and 5th female overall. Both Sheryl and Vicky were amazing in tricky conditions finishing in just over an hour. I must mention Sheryl’s sprint towards the finishing line which was brilliant.
If anyone still has sponsorship money to give please see Marie.
Thank you once again
Martyn
To help our students learn about the world of work we now have a weekly work experience placement taking place at The Craft Barn. The Craft Barn is a social enterprise that re-cycles and sells crafting products and materials. The Craft Barn was set up by Saxon Hill school to enable learners with SEND to get support experience of the world of work. The Craft Barn is open to the public and is always happy to receive donations of craft related items and materials. Its great to get our students to try the world of work, and it means the craft barn can now open for an extra day each week. We also have students undertaking work experience at support staff at Old Hall School, Its great to be working with other special schools to give more opportunities to our students. http://saxonhillcraftbarn.co.uk/
This year is our first year of linking with Catherine Care. We are excited to be sending a group of our Post 16 learners to explore the activities that they might be involved in if they transition to a social care setting when they leave school. Catherine Care as based in Norton Canes and offerday and residential services for adults with learning difficulties and mental health needs. They also have a fantastic vintage tea rooms which is open to the public during the week and is well worth a visit. To find out more about Catherine Care go online, http://catherinecare.com/our-services/ .
Mary Elliot School are delighted to be working with Peter Imray, Peter has been instrumental in the development of the EQUALs Semi-Formal Curriculum and will working with Mary Elliot School throughout the school year to help us embed our exciting new Semi-Formal and Informal Curriculums. Not only is peter a vastly experienced SEN teacher and consultant, he has published a number of books and articles with a focus on the curriculum for SEND learners. Most recently “Inclusion is Dead, Long Live Inclusion” (co-authored with Andrew Colley) published by Routledge in 2017.
Star of the week 14.09.18,
for great basketball skills and good communication
“In June we had Jennifer and Evadne visit the school and put on a special workshop for some of the students. Jennifer and Evadne have written a book about the experiences of people who moved from the Caribbean to Walsall in the 19050s and 60s. They brought some artefacts and sensory items for the students to experience and explained about how life was for these people.”
A group of students took part in a Sponsored swim at Sneyd Swimming Pool on Wednesday June 13th.
The overall distance covered was more than 3000 metres ! Which is more than 120 lengths !
A fantastic achievement , and a Great Big Well Done to all our Super Swimmers, and thank you to the Friends Of Mary Elliot for your support.