Newsletters

NEWSLETTER 7 - 5 November 2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been great to welcome back our students this week after a half-term. On Monday the staff had a visiting speaker at the INSET day with a focus on developing Literacy within the school, this has always been such an important part of schooling and will certainly continue to be in the future.

As you will know, before half-term we saw quite a significant increase in positive COVID cases within our student population, but this has now decreased again, and we are almost back down to our average level that we saw at the start of last term. As a school we have put a range of extra precautions in place, and we will continue the levels of case rates on a daily basis. At the end of next week we will review our procedures on face coverings.

This week it was great to see sports fixtures resume along with trips and activities; I know one of the highlights was the new Astronomy group visit to Cley Hill for the evening. Next week our assemblies will remain on-line. On Thursday the whole school will be shown an assembly on remembrance day. Also, on Thursday we are looking forward to seeing Year 11 students and parents for our Post 16 evening at school at 6:30pm

As always, I hope you enjoy your weekend, especially if you are heading out to a fireworks display.

Paul Skipp

Headteacher


05 Nov 2021
Book of the Week
Wink by Rob Harrell
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05 Nov 2021
Clerk to the Board of Governors Vacancy
PART-TIME, PERMANENT CONTRACT Average 10 hours per week, 52 weeks per year Grade E £5,323 - £5,538 per annum (£9.94 - £10.34 per hour)
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Week 2
All Day
08
November
Senior Maths Challenge
All Day
10
November
Post-16 Open Evening
6:30pm – 8:30pm
11
November
Week 1
All Day
15
November
Year 10 Parents Evening
3:30pm – 6:30pm
15
November
Week 2
All Day
22
November

This week during STEM club, the students made slime! What will they make next week? Join us in H7, Tuesday at 3pm, to find out and join in (Year 7 students only).

 


Year 7 & 8 CAT4 assessment reports

The CAT4 reports for year 7 and year 8 parents will be handed to your child during tutor time next week. The report includes information about what the CAT4 assessments are, why they are used, example questions as well as your child's profile and summary of results. The summary includes advice into how your child learns best and extra support that can be given at home, if needed.

If you have any further questions, please contact your child's tutor or Head of Year. 


This week saw our Year 10 netball team have several fixtures! On Wednesday we went over to Melksham Oak to participate in a tournament with local Schools, it was a great opportunity for students to play other Schools and having time to build as a team. The team worked well together, and we’re improving with each game! Mrs Acheson was very impressed with their efforts and said they represented the School well. Player of the Match: Megan

Miss Lewis took the fixture yesterday to Kingdown, again they built towards some really positive plays in each quarter but unfortunately narrowly lost out with the final score being 7-5. The girls were a credit to the School with lovely feedback from members of staff. Player of the Match: Grace 

 



British Legion Poppy Appeal

Next week there will be opportunities for students to donate to the British Legion Poppy Appeal. Any donations would be gratefully received so please can money be brought in. 

Children in Need

Also, we're having a non-school uniform day on 19th November to raise money for Children In Need.  More details will be coming via ParentPay.  


Supporting your child to keep safe online

We hope to support parents and carers in keeping children safe when using technology including phones and other internet connect devices. Over the coming weeks and months, I will be sharing information and support services that may help you to support your child in keeping safe.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) tells us that 'since the start of the pandemic, the amount of ‘self-generated’ child abuse imagery has increased dramatically. In 2020, the IWF confirmed 68,000 cases of such imagery, a rise of 77% on the year before. It accounts for nearly half (44%) the imagery we took action on last year. In 80% of these cases, the victims were 11- to 13-year-old girls.'

The IWF has created a resource to help parents and carers understand the risks of 'self-generated child sexual abuse imagery' using the acronym 'TALK'.

To find out more, go to: https://talk.iwf.org.uk/

If you have any questions or concerns please contact your child’s pastoral lead, year leader, Sarah Hill or me, Helen Kerr, to discuss how we can help.



Supporting careers education, information, advice and Guidance at JoG

 

Tuesday 23rd November 2021, 18:00 – 19:30 (GMT) at the University of Bristol. Sign up for the event here

The evening will feature:
The skills top employers are looking for today and the key steps students can take to maximise their potential. 

The launch of InvestIN's regional in-person career experiences taking place at the University of Bristol in January 2022. These opportunities will be available in our top 5 most popular industries: Medicine, Law, Investment Banking, Engineering and Psychology. 

Post-16 Open Events this term

Wiltshire College – 6th November- Chippenham Campus, 13th November - Lackham Campus, 27th November -Trowbridge Campus https://www.wiltshire.ac.uk/events

JoG 6th form – 11th November 6.30-8.30pm

Bath College – 1st December https://www.bathcollege.ac.uk/openevents 

Post-16 Options webinar

Qualified and experienced careers advisers from the CareerPilot Team will be running two, free, live online session for parents and young people on post 16 options this term.

Monday 8th November 6-7pm and Wednesday Nov 24th 6-7pm

Find out more and register for a place on either date by clicking here: https://parentschoicesaftery11.eventbrite.co.uk