Blog#29 – w/c 14/06/2021

Hi Everyone,

This week has been a little bit mixed. As you will see below, the fantastic work continues in school and staff are delighted to share student successes and great work with you. Year 10s are in the middle of their ‘end of year’ exams and they all need to be revising in an effort to underpin the best possible outcomes. Results will be used as a diagnostic tool to inform teachers of where additional support is needed as students move into Year 11 and begin their final year with us.

This week, as I’m sure you know, we also had students who tested positive for Covid 19 and, as a result, a number of year 7s and 8s are currently isolating at home.

Covid 19

It seems that our hopes of relaxing all of the restrictions in response to Covid 19 were a little premature. As you will be aware, following some students who tested positive for the virus this week, a number of students in Years 7 and 8 will be isolating for the next ten 10 days. This is far from ideal and we understand how frustrating this is for parents and carers. However, effective isolation is the only hope we have of containing the virus and minimising the risk of further infections.

As I mentioned in the blog last week, masks in school are now compulsory again. Please note that this is not the school’s decision, it is a directive from the local authority. Please ensure that your child comes to school equipped with an appropriate face covering. Now more than ever, this is really important as one of the key ways we can all help to protect each other.

For students at home, please note: this is not a holiday and you are expected to continue completing work. As it was during the lockdown, work for all of your lessons will be posted on Google Classroom. Of course, we thank parents in advance for supporting this; we know how difficult it can be trying to juggle home learning along with all of the other responsibilities you have. Students have lost a lot of time in the classroom over the last sixteen months and, whilst we accept that Google Classroom isn’t ideal, it is important that we use every opportunity to prevent any further loss of learning time.

PCR Testing

Following our positive cases, all staff and students were asked to complete a PCR test on Thursday 17^th June and return it to school the following day. Almost all students managed to return their tests, so well done and thank you again for ongoing support.

Action Tutoring Summer Programme

Now that the Year 11s have left, the funding for Action Tutoring has been transferred to our year 10s. There are four sessions that will run each Friday until 9^th July and they will focus on supporting some of the English and Maths learning that was lost due to the pandemic. This is delivered by external providers and we should say a massive ‘well done’ to all those students who are taking part.

Food Technology

In Food Preparation and Nutrition this week, our KS4 classes made Dauphinoise Potatoes. Students focused on introducing additional flavour to the dish using garlic and seasoning, and had to demonstrate effective, and safe, knife skills in order to prepare finely sliced potatoes to create a layered dish. The results were fantastic and the classes worked with high levels of independence and resilience. Well done!

Yr 10 Child Development

In Year 10 Child Development this week, we have been doing some plasticine modelling to demonstrate our knowledge and understanding of the female reproductive system, which is an essential element of the exam.

Students got super creative and showed excellent levels of knowledge, understanding and maturity throughout the task.

Coding Club

The new Coding Club is now up and running. Year 7 have been enjoying the time testing out some new software and trying out some creative coding. Last week we saw some excellent patterns being drawn using Logo Code. Well done to those attending and we look forward to more year 7s coming along. We will share photos of their work next week.

The club meets on Fridays from 2.45pm - 3.30pm in Room 201 with Mrs Tait.

All year 7s are welcome.

And finally…

Remember, Year 10s have one more week of exams to prepare for and will need your support.

Beyond this, we all need to remain careful and vigilant in our fight against Covid in order to protect our freedom for the summer holidays.

It looks like we can all enjoy another great weekend of sunny weather.

Best wishes and ‘stay safe’.