Weekly Message 221 – 28 March 2024
28th March 2024
We have reached the end of another term! Parents and carers will be in receipt of the end of term letter from Mr Hudson (Headteacher) which reflects on the last 12 weeks and shares key messages as we plan for the new term ahead.
We wish all members of the Cams Hill School community a restful and enjoyable Easter break and we look forward to welcoming pupils back to school on Monday 15 April 2024.
Jazz Café
As promised last week, here are some photos from our recent Jazz Café evening. Thank you again to all involved.
Endeavour House Visit to QA Hospital NICU
Here are some photos from last week’s visit to QA Hospital. Our House Captains and lead fundraiser placed plaques on two reclining chairs to be used in the NICU overnight rooms to allow mothers to feed their babies in comfort.
Year 11 – Have You Ordered Your Yearbook?
Year 11 – Have You Given Us Your Quote for the Yearbook?
Educake Webinar
We do hope that parents/carers who attended the Educake webinar this week found it useful; for any parents/carers who were unable to attend on Monday, here is a link to a video which gives a good overview.
Nurture Group
The Nurture Group started in September with seven Year 7 pupils. The Nexus staff have provided sessions on Creative Wellbeing, Forest School, Cooking, Maths, Literacy, PE, Gaming and Social and Emotional Communication Skills. Each session has included a snack of toast and jam around the kitchen table and over the two terms we have devoured 35 loaves of bread and 10 jars of jam!
On Wednesday we finished our last Nurture session with a party to celebrate. The pupils have left Nexus today having made new friends, feeling more confident and proud of themselves.
Year 10 Work Experience
This week Year 10 pupils experienced the working world and have embarked on a variety of placements organised by themselves. These have included working within the charity sector, construction, childcare and retail. We are hopeful that this experience has given pupils the opportunity to experience a flavour of what life post education might entail and gain some valuable insights and skills.
Pupils who have remained on site with us have been busy following a comprehensive programme facilitated by teaching staff. They have learned to balance the books and work with the income you have, respond to a marketing brief to design a product and they have had the chance to explore different job adverts to prioritise which values are important to them. They have also experienced input from a variety of external speakers from the NHS, Mildren and the University of Portsmouth.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank parents and carers for the planning, facilitation and guidance of these Work Experience Placements – we know that without the ‘behind the scenes’ input many of the experiences for pupils this week would not have been possible.
Year 10 – Creative Choices Workshop at Portsmouth Guildhall
Some Year 10 pupils visited Portsmouth Guildhall on Tuesday morning to take part in a Creative Careers Workshop. Pupils had a tour of the many facilities including the Main Concert Hall (and backstage), Portsmouth Music Experience Exhibition and the Council Chambers. They learned about the extensive and diverse range of job roles in creative industries and the skills required to be successful.
Library House Challenge Results
Thanks to everyone who entered the Library Graphic Your Novel House Competition. We had 51 eligible entries in total. Winning entries will be displayed in the Library after the Easter holiday.
Total House Points
595 for Warrior
180 for Endeavour
110 for Victory
60 for Illustrious
75 for Invincible
1st: J Spafford (Warrior)- 100 extra house points + prize
2nd: A Dawson (Victory) -75 extra house points + prize
Joint 3rd: F Coombe (Endeavour) -50 extra house points + prize and Tabitha Ives (Illustrious) – 50 extra house points + prize
4th: R Davidge (Warrior) -25 extra house points + prize
Honourable mentions:
C Stanning (Warrior)- extra 15 points
S Greenham (Warrior)- extra 15 points
M Kerfoot (Victory)- extra 15 points
Careers Spotlight – Volunteering
Year 10 pupils who stayed in school this week had a lesson which covered “How to write a CV”. They discussed the barrier of having minimal or no work experience to include on their CV. Volunteering can be a valuable and enriching opportunity for many young people and can help build real life experiences. Whilst some options are only 18+, many now offer youth volunteering programmes for 16 and 17-year-olds. Some useful links for more information are:
Volunteering advice | National Careers Service
Search for a local volunteering opportunity – Get Volunteering
Volunteering | Prospects.ac.uk
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Statistics
House Points Averages per Pupil for This Week
Year 7 4.60 points
Year 8 3.63 points
Year 9 4.41 points
Year 10 work experience
Year 11 2.28 points
MathsWatch and Educake
These are two online resources that we expect pupils to be accessing routinely with homework set by teachers and independently to support their progress in Maths, Science and other subjects. We ask parents to check in with their child to see whether they are accessing these resources routinely and to encourage best use of them.
MathsWatch
Average number of questions answered per pupil this week
Year 7 21.8 questions
Year 8 23.4 questions
Year 9 4.4 questions
Year 10 work experience
Year 11 11.4 questions
Highest number of questions answered by one pupil this week
Year 7 144 questions
Year 8 89 questions
Year 9 60 questions
Year 10 work experience
Year 11 85 questions
Not all Maths homework is set on MathsWatch, which is likely to affect the averages.
Upcoming Maths Assessment Dates
Year 7 – this week
Year 8 – this week
Educake – Science
Average number of questions answered per pupil this week
Year 7 57.35 questions
Year 8 16.45 questions
Year 9 21.11 questions
Year 10 92.54 questions
Year 11 131.25 questions
Highest number of questions answered by one pupil this week
Year 7 661 questions
Year 8 344 questions
Year 9 669 questions
Year 10 976 questions
Year 11 1551 questions
Staying Mentally Healthy During Exam Time (Young Minds)
As we head towards the main exam time it’s worth revisiting how we can support young people at what can be a stressful time.
Young Minds have a series of support pages aimed to help with exam stress and anxiety. Their advice is available to help school staff, parents and carers and, of course, young people themselves. You can find this helpful advice at the links below: