COUNTY COUNCIL MESSAGE FOR PARENTS
PLEASE NOTE THAT CSSE SCHOOLS 11+ SELECTION TESTS WILL TAKE PLACE ON SATURDAY 22nd SEPTEMBER 2012 FOR ADMISSION SEPTEMBER 2013.
Re: 11+ Selection tests Autumn 2012 (for Year 7 admission September 2013 to Essex and Southend grammar and selective schools)
Changes to the admissions process governing places at all the CSSE grammar and selective schools in Essex and Southend, take effect this year. The changes are the result of the publication of a new statutory School Admissions Code that requires ‘testing before application’ to be introduced.
Parents of pupils currently in Year 5 seeking a selective place at a CSSE school for September 2013 will need to note the following:
• They must register with the CSSE for a test place no later than Friday 7th September 2012.
• They must attend the relevant school for the selection tests on Saturday 22nd September 2012. There is no change to the content or format of the test papers this year.
• Results of the tests will be posted to parents by the CSSE on Monday 15th October 2012.
Accompanying the test results will be information to enable parents to assess whether or not they have a realistic chance of securing a selective place before applying to the Local Authority for a school place.
• They must submit, after due consideration, an application to their home Local Authority naming their preferred schools by Wednesday 31st October 2012.
In due course the CSSE will be advising Essex andSouthendPrimary Schoolsof the dates and times when Year 5 pupils and parents will be able to visit each of these schools at open evenings during the Summer Term 2012. The information will also be displayed on the CSSE website www.csse.org.uk .
PLEASE NOTE THE EARLIEST YOU CAN REGISTER FOR THE 11+ SELECTION TESTS WITH THE CSSE IS FROM: SUNDAY 1st JULY 2012. A REGISTRATION FORM WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE CSSE WEBSITE www.csse.org.uk FROM THAT DATE.
THE CLOSURE DATE FOR REGISTRATION WITH THE CSSE FOR THE 11+ SELECTION TEST IS: FRIDAY 7th SEPTEMBER 2012.
Letter from Brazil - No.6:
Hi All,
I delivered more of the gifts that you sent out to Brazil to the children at the projects this week. I now know how Santa must feel each Christmas! Again, the children were so overwhelmed and grateful for your kindness and generosity towards them. The children love colouring in, so receiving so many fantastic colouring books made them so excited, they could hardly contain themselves. There was lots of clapping and cheering as they saw each item being pulled out of the bag. We spent the morning sharing out the activities for the children to do and I was even given a chance to do some colouring in, which I really enjoyed.
This week I have also been spending time at Janette´s house finishing the painting and making artwork for her walls and cushions for her sofa. I found a community centre that had a sewing machine that I could use for free, so I put my GCSE textiles qualification to work. I made some beautiful cushions, a rug and some curtains, with the help of one of the other volunteers, Natasha.
We then found some old hula hoops and stretched fabric around them to make some art for Janette´s walls. We haven´t dressed the house yet, but as soon as we do, I will send you a photograph to see the finished result.
Thinking of you all,
Miss O´Sullivan
Letter from Brazil - No.5:
Hello All,
Yesterday I visited the Lapa steps which are only about a ten minute walk from my house in Catete. The steps are officially called The Selaron Stairway. I thought you might be interested to hear about how the steps became so beautiful and so famous. This is the artist's story;
I was born in Chile in 1947 and, after travelling, working and living in more than 50 countries, I finally arrived in this great nation of Brazil in 1983. In 1990, I started working on my major masterpiece which, little by little, has turned into the most original stairway in the world: 125 meters high and with 215 steps. In the beginning, everyone laughed at me as I covered the steps with tiles in blue, green and yellow the colours of the Brazilian flag. It is my tribute to the Brazilian people. As I worked, my profession changed from painter to sculptor and my hands became covered in blood, calluses, itching and pain. But it was a passion, even though it was difficult: the rent was late and the telephone was cut off, but every time I raised money I spent it on materials to carry out my work. I worked without stopping, except when I ran out of materials to carry out my work, then I sold paintings to raise the money to be able to continue. I invented a unique technique of constantly changing the tiles, which reults in a special energy that brings the work of art to life. It contains over 2000 different tiles, from more than 120 countries. Every time you visit my stairway it will be different. You can be a part of my masterpiece. If you send me a tile, I will put in on the stairway. I dream that each of you will send me a tile, a dream that I believe can come true....
`This crazy and unique dream will only end on the day of my death` Selarón (Chilean Painter)
When I visited the steps, I was lucky enough to meet Selarón and see him at work. He was taking down tiles and replacing them with new ones that had been sent to him from people all over the world. I bought an old tile that had been on the steps and Selarón signed it for me. He even posed for a photograph with me and my friends. He was very friendly and kind. When I return to the UK I am going to send Selarón a tile and hopefully I will be part of his great artwork.
Today I am going to Janette´s house to finish painting and decorating her living room. I can´t wait for you all to see the photographs of it when it is finished.
Take Care
Miss O´Sullivan.
Letter from Brazil - No. 4:
I visted the Maracanã stadium on Sunday evening, where in 2014 Brazil will host the next World Cup. The Maracanã Stadium is the biggest stadium in the world and is where the World Cup football matches will be played. In order for Rio de Janeiro to be ready for such an event, the Maracanã is now closed for renovation works. I went to the last game to be played there before the next world cup is hosted. I watched a game between Flamengo and Santos.
Flamengo are a hugely popular team here in Brazil. It is believed to be the best supported team in the world, having over 25 million fans in Brazil alone. The team wear red and black striped shirts and they have a Brazilian vulture as their mascot. I was a Flamenguista (flamengo fan) for the evening and had a smashing time. The atmosphere was electric and the fans are so dedicated to their teams. There was lots of drumming, singing, chanting and flag waving and I felt really lucky to have experienced that part of the Brazilian culture as football is such a huge sport out here.
Football goes on 24 hours a day here. Workers who clock off after midnight, like waiters and hotel porters, play until sunrise on the public pitches by the Aterro de Flamengo. Throughout the day, football is played wherever there is a space. I hope to return to the Maracanã one day and experience another game with the same overwhelming atmosphere.
Best Wishes,
Miss O'Sullivan.
Letter from Brazil - No. 3:
Hello everyone,
Yesterday I celebrated my 25th birthday in Rio. I had a fantastic day with the children at my project. I decided to cook the children a nice lunch as a treat, as they aren´t used to eating cakes and sweets and I didn´t want to disturb their routine too much. I asked the lady that runs the project for ideas and she suggested that we made noodles with potato, carrots and a tomato sauce. The children absolutely loved the food, especially the oranges we gave them for dessert. It was such a lovely feeling to see them enjoying the food we had prepared for them, there wasn´t a frown to be seen.
The parcel of resources for the projects arrived at my accomodation today. I was getting slightly worried that it wouldn´t find it´s way, but it got here in the end. I will take some of the gifts with me tomorrow and take lots of photographs for you all to see.
This Saturday I am spending the day painting a house in one of the favelas. I have met a very lovely lady in Rio called Janette. She runs one of the youth projects and she is a very hardworking and caring woman. She does so much for the community and often takes in children that need somewhere to stay and feel safe. She invited me and one of the other volunteers, Natasha, to her house for lunch, which was a real privilege. It wasn´t nice to see someone living in such poor conditions so we decided that we would offer to buy some paint and decorate some of the rooms for her as a present. We know that it is only a small gift, but it will make the property brighter and a nicer place to live, hopefully. Janette was very shocked and delighted by our offer and gratefully accepted. We are looking forward to the challenge and I will send lots of before and after photographs next week so that you can see what a difference a lick of paint can do here in Brazil.
Bye,
Miss O'Sullivan.
Click HERE to see a picture of two children from Brazil, sending a message to Rosie.
Letter from Brazil - No. 2:
Hi Everyone,
I hope you have all had a fun filled summer holiday and are glad to be back at school. I am still having a fantastic time here in Brazil, but I am also missing returning to Elmstead for the start of what will be a great term.
I have been very busy this week working at a project with babies and young children. My project is called Casa sorriso da Crianca. It takes me nearly two hours to get there and I have to catch 2 buses and do lots of walking. When I arrive, I have to play with the children outside for about 2 hours. This might sound like a really long playtime, but there aren´t many things for the children to do, so we have to keep thinking of new ideas. I took some chalk to the project and we did lots of the things Class R, Class 1 and Class 2 do in the playground, like drawing swirls for them to run around, drawing around one another and playing noughts and crosses. The children were so excited when I gave them the chalk and now I can´t go to the project without it, because they are having so much fun using it.
At lunchtime I feed the young children and babies rice and beans. They don´t have the lovely school dinners or lunches that we have at school, but they still seem to enjoy it, as it is what they are used to.
After lunch we shower the children. The water is very cold and sometimes it can be very upsetting when the children get upset and cry because of how cold the water is. We try and wash them as quickly as we can and then wrap them up in towels and dry them off. We then put fresh nappies on the babies, comb their hair and brush their teeth. They always look and smell lovely once they have been washed.
We then give medicine to the children that are poor in health and then it is nap time. As the children sleep, we clean the creche and wash the lunch plates. It is then time for the adults to have lunch and go home.
The children in Brazil don´t go to school until they are 7 years old. They aren´t taught any basic number of literacy skills which is very strange for me to see. It is upsetting to hear that only 4 of out of 10 children finish primary school in Brazil, which means that most children go into adult life without being able to read or write. I am going to be working at a school next week, teaching English. I am looking forward to sharing my news about it with you in my next email.
Take care.
Best Wishes,
Miss O´Sullivan.
Letter from Brazil - No. 1:
Dear Class 2 and everyone at Elmstead School
I have been in Rio de Janeiro for one week now. I am having a fantastic time and really enjoying my experience. The Cariocas (residents of Rio) have been so friendly and welcoming towards me and the other volunteers and the projects we work in are just brilliant. The children that we are working with are very poor. They don´t have luxuries that we are used to back in the UK. The way of life here is very different, but the children are just the same as you; lovely, caring, fun and playful.
We organised a fashion show for the children this week in the favelas. We made skirts and tops for the girls to decorate and the boys were given t.shirts to decorate and a pair of sunglasses each. We worked really hard to sew all of the outfits in time, which meant staying up very late into the night, but it was worth it to see the smiles on the children´s faces when we gave them their clothes to wear. They all looked really great and enjoyed prancing up and down the catwalk that we created. When Brazilian children get excited, they make lots of noise, clapping, whistling and cheering. The atmosphere was electric and everyone has such a wonderful evening.
A few of the older children finished the evening by fire breathing. It is a very dangerous activity, but we took our sensible heads off and let them have a good time as they have practised many times and it is part of their culture and we must respect this, even if it´s not something we would allow the children we teach at home to do.
I am looking forward to the rest of my time here, and organising more events for the children here to enjoy.
Best Wishes
Miss O´Sullivan.
