Weekly Message 144 – 8 April 2022
8th April 2022
Credit Averages for This Week
Year 7 11.39
Year 8 8.67
Year 9 3.97
Year 10 3.89
Year 11 3.84
This week we have celebrated achievement and success as we reach the end of another school term. Pupils have worked hard in the classroom and have been able to enjoy the wealth of extra-curricular opportunities that are now well and truly back in the mix.
School reopens to all pupils on Monday 25 April 2022 with arrival times for each year group remaining unchanged. There have been some changes to the timetable, and this has already been communicated with parents/carers and pupils. Pupils will be given paper copies of their new timetable on the first day back after the holiday but in the meantime, they can be accessed on Edulink.
Please do keep an eye on the school calendar which can be found on our website for forthcoming events – the Summer Term is always a busy one! We remind parents and carers that we have the final INSET Day of the year taking place on Friday 24 June 2022.
Thank you to all our pupils, staff and parents and carers for a fabulous Spring Term. We wish all our readers a relaxing and peaceful Easter break and we very much look forward to welcoming back and working with our pupils next term.
Attendance
Please see below attendance figures for our pupil cohort this past week.
This week (w/e 8 April) 91.5%
Last week (w/e 1 April) 91.5%
National Average year to date 89.7%
Junior Maths Challenge
The Junior Maths Challenge is taking place on Wednesday 27 April during Period 3. Pupils in Group 1 for Maths in Years 7 and 8 will be taking part. If your child is involved, they will get more details from their Maths teacher. This is a national competition, run by Leeds University, with certificates awarded for high scores and we hope some pupils may qualify for the next round!
Here are a couple of questions from the 2018 Challenge:
If you or your child are interested in trying more of these puzzles, please visit:
https://www.ukmt.org.uk/competitions/solo/junior-mathematical-challenge/archive
for the challenges from earlier years including solutions – in case you want to check your answers to these puzzles!
Puzzle of the Week
Pupils, parents and carers can enter. To do so, go to: https://www.puzzleoftheweek.com/home and register. Pupils need to use their school email address. You will be sent a User Code to submit your answer each week.
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award – Practice Expedition
Last weekend pupils completed their practice for the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze and Silver Award expeditions. The Silver Award pupils walked around 20km per day navigating their way through the New Forest. This is the first year we have pupils completing the Silver Award and they all did superbly well over the weekend.
Year 9 pupils completed the Bronze Award practice on Saturday and again were an absolute credit to the school. All pupils had to endure very cold nights which we hope they won’t meet when they complete their expedition in May for the Bronze and July/September for the Silver Award. Well done and thank you to all involved.
Enrichment Day
This term’s second, and Year 11s last ever, Enrichment Day took place on Tuesday. These days are an incredibly important part of the school’s curriculum, teaching life skills that benefit children beyond the classroom and can develop an appreciation for cultural and community issues, team-work and social responsibility.
Once again, the day saw a wide range of topics being covered across all year groups. In Year 7 there was a focus on resilience, kindness and diversity and Year 8 pupils took the day to focus on their own wellbeing and how they can support those around them. As Year 9 inch ever closer to being in Year 10, they discussed big topics: careers, option subjects and how to achieve their dreams.
Year 10 focused on their wellbeing and how to manage their lives as Key Stage 4/GCSE pupils and Year 11 spent time in specific subject areas engaged in exam preparation and had the opportunity to revise as well as spend time outside as a whole cohort, with team building games to end the day.
Year 10 Uniformed Services
The pupils following our ‘Uniformed Services’ course were lucky enough to visit the Historical Dockyard in Portsmouth this week where they had the opportunity to learn about the rich history and traditions of the Royal Navy.
They were all completely immersed in the atmosphere created by the Mary Rose Museum, and they had a chance to join Nelson’s Navy and explore his flagship HMS Victory; it was decided by all that they would have found life on board a challenge.
We were lucky enough to get a glimpse of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and finally, pupils were enlisted into the Victorian Navy having a chance to explore the first iron-clad ship. Whilst they agreed that conditions on board were better than those on HMS Victory, they still struggled to imagine enjoying life on board. The day contained laughter, smiles and most importantly, lots of learning.
Movie Afternoon
This week pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 have enjoyed an afternoon off timetable watching a movie, acknowledging the fact that they had achieved 250 achievement points so far this year. Huge congratulations to all who were invited – we are super proud of you. Do not worry Years 10 and 11 – you will have your afternoon after Easter.
Celebration Assemblies
End of term celebration assemblies have been led all week by the Heads of Year and tutor teams. Chocolate eggs galore have been rewarded to pupils and it has been rewarding and so positive to get together as year groups to celebrate the achievements of our wonderful pupils. Well done to everyone. We are super proud of you.
School Council
The school council met on Thursday for the first time since Covid and it was great to see everyone. Pupils had their questions answered by Mrs Harrison-Jones (Headteacher) and received updates about all things Cams Hill. Questions included queries about the uniform policy and the potential for a 4G football pitch. A task was set by Year 10 to review the ‘Praise and Rewards’ pyramid to look at improvements and pupils across the school added their ideas and thoughts to the current system.
Non-School Uniform Days
Thank you to everyone who has participated and donated towards non-school uniform days this term; we are proud to have raised over £1200 for our three charities and Comic Relief. We were lucky enough to have Louise Gough from Naomi House/Jacksplace come in and speak to pupils about the difference our money makes to people’s lives.
Thank you to our Cams Hill Community for all your generosity in helping us support the Acts of Kindness Easter Egg drive. This initiative aims to help families in the local area that are struggling financially to ensure everyone gets an egg this holiday. We are so humbled that our Cams Hill Family continues to help us support such a variety of charity initiatives. #ThankYou.
Great British Spring Clean
We’re so proud of our pupils for participating in The Great British Spring Clean 2022. Please keep filling those bin bags and let us know … we will get those House points added
Vodafone Guide on Digital Parenting
Vodafone has released a guide ‘digital-parenting’. Please use the link to access this helpful guide and other many hints and tips to support you and your child in digital world they live in.