The Connection began as a printed newspaper produced three times per year and given to the students to take home. Advances in website technology and increased internet access at home (over 90% of our families) mean that an online version is not only cheaper to produce but more immediate. Updates are made almost as soon as the story breaks so keep checking back!

• The Connection Online has divided with the Sports items available here...
• Click here for the Autumn '09 edition of the Connection Online...
• The Connection Online Archives...

New Principal appointment...

Ski and Snowboarding 2010 report - book now for 2011 - just a few places left!!

Keeping the Learning Going - adverse weather and Moodle details

• Access the work left for students during the snow and adverse weather

Twenty two poems selected for publication from South Dartmoor Students!

‘Poetry Rivals’ is the latest creative writing competition from one of the leading publishing houses in the genre, Forward Press.  Open to students aged eighteen and under, poems could be on any subject, written in any style, and unrestricted in terms of line length.  Many poems were submitted but an impressive twenty-two poems from South Dartmoor students were chosen for publication in the 2009 collection My Heart Lies in Writing (pictured).

Of the twenty-two poems from South Dartmoor students, one has made it through to the grand final.  Naomi A.’s poem ‘I Remember’ has secured her a place in the ‘Poetry Rivals Poetry Slam’, a national competition due to be held in Peterborough in April 2010.  Only fifty of the under-eighteen poets published were chosen to perform their writing at the slam, but unfortunately, Naomi is unable to attend and so her success, on this occasion only, ends there.

Naomi is pictured below alongside Summer B. (left) and Emma V. (right), whose poems ‘My Feelings’ and ‘Daydreams’ were also published in the collection.

Click here to read 'I Remember' and other poems...

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Yr 7 started playing The Real Game DLD Feb 10 – a game based on reality but played as ‘young  adults with no dependents’. Read on...

Real Game

Four Sixth Form students from South Dartmoor recently took part in a major Maths Challenge competition in London. 

The day went very smoothly – trains to and from London were actually on time!.  The team acquitted themselves really well. 

They finished in the top ten for the poster competition and competed well in the main competition especially the cross number puzzle where they scored  54 out of 66.  They found the other rounds quite challenging! 

There were some very high powered teams (71 from all over the country) and in fact the vast  majority were either independent schools (including Eton etc.) or selective grammar schools.

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The students chosen to receive the Principal's Commendation Black Ties were presented with them in assembly this week.  Students are nominated to be given a black tie for many reasons, for example, having high attendance, wearing their uniform correctly, attending clubs and activities and having an excellent record of behaviour and acheivement across the college. 

With the ties come certain privileges - including not having to queue for lunch! Congratulations to all students who have received a black tie this term.

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Multistory Theatre came into College to perfom 'Sealskin' to Year 9 and Sixth Form A level Drama and Theatre Studies students. 

The photograph shows AS level Drama and Theatre Study students, Malaika and India, (in the deerstalker hats from the show!) with John, Bill and Gill from Multistory Theatre, following their performance of 'Sealskin'.

"I really enjoyed the Multistory performance - we got loads of ideas and it'll be incredibly useful to my group when we're rehearsing our A level exam piece"

The Drama department would like to thank the Helen Foundation for their generous support with this project.

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South Dartmoor Year 13 Lauren H. has just played for Wales Senior Ladies team at the European Championships in Rouen, France.

This was Lauren's first senior International cap and the first time Wales have entered this Championship.

They lost their first game to England, who fielded 8 GB players and in the photo below Lauren is marking one of them, Kerry Williams, whom she also met as part of the schools Stars Squad in Loughborough. They then lost to France and Croatia. But they improved as they went on and finished by beating Turkey and Sweden.

Lauren played really well, her coach Phil Gooderham said her skills, game awareness and confidence were superb for such a young person, she was the 2nd youngest in the whole tournament, and she has a great future.

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A Research-engaged School and College

Dr Voldis Kudliskis, Research Coordinator at South Dartmoor Community College, had the privilege of accepting one of the first national awards to be presented to research-engaged schools and colleges by the National Foundation for Education Research (NfER) on behalf of the College. South Dartmoor is the first Community College, in the UK, to be recognised for its commitment to research at a national level.

The award was presented, in London, at the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) Research Conference on Friday 26th February 2010. In his acceptance speech Voldis explained that the award very much reflected the commitment of both the Principal and staff at the College to a research ethos that served to inform and improve teaching and learning for all those involved in our teaching and learning community.

Voldis also indicated how the research ethos at South Dartmoor very much reflected the educational philosophy and principles promoted at the conference. A key theme at South Dartmoor is to utilise research to develop our thinking and understanding about how the role of teacher-research contributes to raising levels in teaching practice and standards; moreover, research at South Dartmoor provides opportunities to consider possible changes that will benefit both teachers and learners at a system level; this is again resonated with the themes of the conference.

Voldis went on to explain that South Dartmoor Community College was committed to developing a sustainable research culture that would continue to serve and inform practice. The thrust of ‘in-house’ research was to help develop expertise and to share findings with partners and various stakeholders.

Voldis explained that students, via the ‘Student Voice’, were contributing to, and embracing, the research culture that is developing at South Dartmoor. Students have been involved in conducting research through the implementation of student lesson observations. These observations have then contributed to curriculum development for both departments that have participated and for colleagues more generally. All this has served to enhance both learning and teaching.

Finally, Voldis concluded by speaking of his own personal philosophy which is to ensure that whilst he is passionate about educational research, his passion for teaching would mean that he would be a teacher-researcher who would continue to develop his research and teaching expertise in the classroom.

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6th form students have been busy raising money for the annual ‘Buy a Goat’ project, on behalf of World Vision.

Last year, as a 6th form, we raised £1139.30, coming second to Sharp Tor. This year, only 6th formers took part, and we managed to raise even more than last year!

The total raised for 2009/10 was: £1,460 .17 – a fantastic achievement! Read on...

Buy a Goat report and photos