Weekly Message 238 – 27 September 2024
27th September 2024
History trip to Berlin
Open Evening
On Thursday evening we opened our doors wide to welcome prospective families into our fantastic school and see it in action.
As a community of pupils, staff, and governors we are very proud of our school and value the opportunity to share this with others. We had almost 300 pupils volunteering their free time to meet and greet, show our visitors around the site, and share their experiences and reflections as members of the school community. The pupils are truly outstanding ambassadors; it is humbling to listen to them speak so fondly about the school and their teachers, and they never fail to impress both visitors and staff alike.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who was involved in making the evening as special as it was and to everyone who was able to come along and visit us. Please visit our Facehook page where you will find some photos that capture the atmosphere of the evening.
Being Prepared
The school is now well and truly back into its routine. We ask parents/carers to continue to ensure that their child is fully equipped for all lessons as per the first week back letter and with the weather changeable, they come prepared, especially for journeying to and from school in wet weather.
History Trip to Berlin
On Saturday, 60 of our finest Year 11 historians travelled to Berlin. They experienced the culture (and S-Bahn) of the capital city, alongside historical sites. Day 1 saw pupils visit the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, memorials to the Roma Sinti and Homosexual communities, the memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the site of Hitler’s bunker and the Stasi Prison. Some of our pupils were shown round the prison by an ex-prisoner, who attempted to escape East Berlin.
On Day 2 the group visited Sachsenhausen Memorial, the 1936 Nazi Olympic Stadium and the Wannsee House which pupils found incredibly thought-provoking, followed by a visit to the Berlin Wall memorial and Bebelplatz, the site of book burnings by the Nazis on Day 3.
All pupils were a credit to Cams Hill in how they conducted themselves and their enthusiasm for History. We are incredibly proud of them and are grateful to have given them this rare opportunity.
Soul Band at Wicor Hog ‘n’ Hop
Last Friday, the Cams Hill Soul Band performed at the annual Wicor Hog ‘n’ Hop. This was the last performance for this lineup of Soul Band as many members have already moved on to college. It has been an amazing year for this group of talented musicians. They have performed at local schools and community events, leading up to their winning performance at Victorious 2024. The Hog ‘n’ Hop was a great success as always, with fine weather and soul classics.
Paper Bird Workshop
On Wednesday, GCSE Drama pupils had the fantastic opportunity to work with The Paper Birds Theatre Company. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed exploring new ways in which to create performances and came away with a whole new toolbox ready to use with their own practical exploration. Paper Birds were impressed with the pupils focus and we were very proud of their efforts.
Sports Results
Year 10 Football against Bridgemary, 3-1 to Bridgemary
Year 9 Netball against Bay House, 16-13 to Bay House
Young Carers
At Cams Hill School we are aware that some pupils are Young Carers and may experience difficulties in their education because of their caring role.
A Young Carer is a child under 18 who regularly helps to look after a family member or friend who is disabled, ill, has a mental health condition or addiction problem.
Children may engage in:
- Practical tasks (cooking, housework, and shopping)
- Physical care (lifting or helping someone use the stairs)
- Personal care (dressing, washing, helping with toilet needs)
- Managing the family budget (collecting benefits and prescriptions)
- Managing medication
- Looking after younger siblings
- Helping someone communicate
Cams Hill School can support Young Carers. If you, or a family member, needs support please contact either Miss Allen or your child’s Head of Year. All contact will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Attend to Achieve
“Promoting Excellent Attendance” to ensure that your child makes every minute of every lesson of everyday count. Here are some useful tips to help you.
- Try not to make doctor, dentist or optician appointments during school time. If this is not possible, please ensure that your child misses as little school as possible by attending before or after the appointment. We will also require evidence of the appointment.
- Don’t allow your child to miss school on Mondays and Fridays, particularly if you are going away for the weekend. We monitor patterns of attendance, and this could lead to unauthorised absences and a Penalty Notice.
- Consider carefully if your child is too ill to attend school. NHS guidance is clear – it’s fine to come to school with a minor cough or common cold and period pains and headaches, but if your child has a high temperature, they should remain at home until it returns to normal. Could your child be given pain relief before coming to school? Should the pain worsen, our first aiders can then make the decision to send them home if required. Where patterns of illness become a concern, we may require medical evidence to be provided*. It can be tricky deciding whether to keep your child off school when they’re unwell; however, if they are well enough to go out in the evening or have a sleepover with a friend, then they are well enough to attend school.
- Contact school on the first day of absence by 08.30 with a reason for absence using the Studybugs app https://studybugs.com/about/parents. Contact the school each day of absence until your child returns.
- Holiday requests during term time will not be authorised. Parents/carers who take their children out of school for a holiday may be issued with a Penalty Notice.
- Keep track of your child’s attendance and contact school if you are experiencing difficulty getting your child to attend.
*We are not able to send work home if your child is unwell and unable to attend school
Menu w/c 30 September 2024
This week the Chef’s Pod will be Omelette and we will be featuring Oreo Milkshake on Friday.
Below is a link to information from National Online Safety regarding Instagram.
Whole School Letters Published This Half Term
Below is a list of letters emailed to all parents/carers this half term together with the date and time they were sent. If you are unable to find any of the communications, please email office@camshill.com and we can send you a further copy.
Late Start for Pupils on 27 September – 25/9/24 1101
We Will Rock You – 24/9/24 1016
School attendance – 18/9/24 1801
First completed week back – 17/9 1330
Proposal to build secondary school in Whiteley – 6/9/24 1136
Photo permissions – 5/9/24 1042
Punctuality to school – 4/9/24 1306
Uniform for Thursday 5 September – 3/9/24 1101
Start of Autumn Term – 30/8/24 1031
Summer mailing – 28/8/24 – 1354
Statistics
House Points Averages per Pupil for This Week
Year 7 9.20 points
Year 8 7.82 points
Year 9 9.07 points
Year 10 7.86 points
Year 11 6.55 points
Attendance
This week – 93.3%
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/carers to check in with their child to see whether they are accessing these resources routinely and to encourage the best use of them.
If there are issues with access, please bring this to the school’s attention as soon as possible so that we can help.
MathsWatch
Average number of questions answered per pupil this week
| Year 7 | 9.3 questions |
| Year 8 | 10.9 questions |
| Year 9 | 10.6 questions |
| Year 10 | 13.0 questions |
| Year 11 | 12.8 questions |
Highest number of questions answered by one pupil this week
| Year 7 | 342 questions |
| Year 8 | 53 questions |
| Year 9 | 49 questions |
| Year 10 | 69 questions |
| Year 11 | 46 questions |
Over 50% in Maths Homework
| Year 7 | 92% |
| Year 8 | 72% |
| Year 9 | 85% |
| Year 10 | 75% |
| Year 11 | 76% |
Over 75% in Maths Homework
| Year 7 | 82% |
| Year 8 | 65% |
| Year 9 | 73% |
| Year 10 | 54% |
| Year 11 | 44% |
100% in Maths Homework
| Year 7 | 53%* |
| Year 8 | 45% |
| Year 9 | 41% |
| Year 10 | 25% |
| Year 11 | 17% |
*For example, this figure means 53% of Year 7 got 100% in their homework tasks.
Not all Maths homework is set on MathsWatch, which is likely to affect the averages.
Maths Homework Club is open to all Years on Wednesdays in ICT2 until 1600.
Year 11 Maths Revision on Mondays – see schedule in Maths classrooms for details.