Dear parents and carers,

Back from half-term on Tuesday 2nd November.

It was really nice to see so many of you during our Parents Forum this week. Thank you so much for your input and comments on our new curriculum and courses and for the

 

 

consultation around social twilights for our students. As discussed, I will take this discussion to our Trustees and to the parents that could not join us.

We will meet again on the 18th of November for our first Open House (15.30 to 19.00). On that evening, you will have the chance to meet with your child’s team and discuss targets and progress over this term.

 

 

From time to time, Phoenix School Kitchen prepares special theme menus to mark calendar occasions – such as Christmas, Eid and World Mental Health Week. For Black History Month this week, the kitchen teamed up with a group of teachers and students for a menu takeover to share and promote heritage dishes across all Phoenix sites. Two work-related-learning pupils, currently on kitchen placement, offered to take the lead on recipes and the preparation of dishes that represented their cultural heritage. Khashan had some tricks up his sleeve for Jerk Chicken with Rice and Peas. While Alex, armed with traditional recipes from Ghana, invited some of the kitchen crew out of their comfort zone to process 60kg of cassava and prepare Fufu, a starchy East African dumpling. Alex also had some guidance for Chef Pete, who had been tasked with preparing a Ghanaian vegetable sauce. “I think it needs to be spicier,” he said. Upon confirming that the scotch bonnet peppers had all been used for the jerk chicken marinade, he pondered: “Perhaps some chilli powder?” Teachers Tafara Craig, Fatima Ali and Michelle Mahorn offered their guidance and linked the special lunch to other BHM related activities taking place through the school, including the setting up of a heritage exhibition that pupils prepared for the dining room in Upper School. Ms Ali also shared her mother’s recipe for Timiir, a Somali date cake that was served for dessert.

David Darmanin

 

COMPASS – Careers Benchmark Tool

https://compass.careersandenterprise.co.uk/shared/XJ10qwg1d5qiwhTkMRRXiiVqZVsYms0x

THIS WEEK
P2 students had a really busy week! They were still full of energy this morning though and I saw some great moves during their getting ready for learning time – they showed their Strictly Come Dancing knowledge. Students were very proud of the skills that they have been learning during Catering lessons. Some students are now able to prepare salads and cook pasta independently. Such a great achievement! Please take a look at a great shot of our students during their Fitness course.

P1 students also had a busy week at the kitchen during their Catering course and they cooked pasta as well. It would be great to hear from you if your child is also cooking at home – our target is for those skills to be transferred to home. Are there any special recipes that you would like for your child to learn? Please let us know. Student’s favourite part of this course was going out shopping to get new ingredients. Students are getting more confident and improving their self-regulation skills when out in the community.

P3 students keep improving their community engagement. This week they went to Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park for litter picking during their Environmental Action course. Students worked in pairs and developed their social and communication skills. It has been fantastic to see the impact that our Speech and Language Therapist has made in such a short period of time. Students will start doing a “before and after” photo to show the effects of their work in our local community. This action could generate not only some volunteering opportunities but also paid work!