Weekly Message 218 – 8 March 2024

8th March 2024

World Book Day

There is lots for you to read in this week’s edition of the Weekly Message!

Just a note to remind parents and carers that the school is closed to pupils on Tuesday 12 March 2024 as it is an INSET Day. This is the last INSET Day this academic year. Please note that the school calendar is available on the website for all dates and events.

Year 9 Guided Choices Evening

Parents and carers of Year 9 pupils are in receipt of a letter dated 5 March 2024 regarding Guided Choices and are invited to the Guided Choices Evening taking place on Tuesday 19 March 1630-1830.

The deadline for the completion of the Guided Choices form will be Wednesday 17 April 2024. A link to this form will be sent out during week commencing 25 March 2024.

Pi Day Bake Off (Maths Challenge)

It’s under a week away! Just a reminder that we will be judging Pi Day Bake Off entries next Thursday, 14 March 2024 so there’s still time for pupils to come up with an idea. Pupils can do this individually or with friends – see last week’s weekly message for further details.

British Science Week – 8 March 2024 – 17 March 2024

British Science Week is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering, and maths that will take place between 8 March 2024 and 17 March 2024. There will be lots happening in school next week to celebrate, including:

A Science Timer Challenge – with prizes!
Eco Challenge Competition – with prizes!
Science House Challenge – poster competition
RCSU Science Challenge 2024 Theme: Hidden Depths – aimed at most able Years 10 and 11 – with prizes!
Design a Science T Shirt competition – with prizes!

Please encourage your children to get involved. They can talk to their Science teachers, check the Science notice board in school or check their ClassCharts accounts and school email for more details.

Battlefields Trip

Last weekend we took 80 Year 9 historians to the WWI Battlefields sites in Belgium and Northern France. We explored trenches at Sanctuary Woods and Newfoundland, observed artefacts at Memorial Museum Passchendaele, witnessed how the dead have been remembered at Tyne Cot and Langamark cemeteries as well as Thiepval and Vimy Ridge. We also laid a wreath at the nightly Menin Gate Last Post ceremony in Ypres.

It was an interesting and poignant experience for pupils and staff, and one that has fuelled some brilliant discussions. Pupils were a credit to themselves and the school!

Fareham College – National Careers Week Game Show

On Tuesday, six Year 9 pupils visited Fareham College to take part in their ‘Game Show’ event.

Up against six other local secondary schools, pupils had to complete a series of challenges related to courses offered at the college. The staff and student ambassadors of the college commented on how our pupils worked extremely well together, quickly identifying the best person for each task and giving each other encouragement throughout.

After drawing with another school, we faced the buzzer round for a second time to be crowned the winning team! Huge congratulations to all involved and thank you to Fareham College for hosting such a great event.

Careers Spotlight

We are pleased to introduce our new weekly Careers Spotlight. We would like to use this spotlight to provide pupils and their families with information about careers related to next steps after Year 11 and to support them whilst still at school, for example, how the curriculum relates to future study opportunities and careers.

Many websites have information suitable for every year group and it is never too early to get inspired and think about future careers. This week we would like to encourage pupils to visit the website Careers – BBC Bitesize. Many of you will know BBC Bitesize for revision purposes; however, the careers page has a wealth of information including an A-Z of careers, how to turn your passion into a job and “where can my subjects take me”. We look forward to sharing more information with you over the coming weeks.

World Book Day

Lots of exciting activities took place here at Cams Hill to celebrate World Book Day. The entire school community came together to enjoy a day filled with literary joy.

Pupils really got into the spirit of the day through enthusiastic participation in book quizzes, showcasing their knowledge and love for literature. The staff also fully embraced the occasion by dressing up as their favourite book characters, adding a fun twist to the celebrations.

Throughout the day, everyone had the opportunity to listen to a captivating story, inspiring their imagination.

World Book Day at Cams Hill was a great success, fostering a love for reading and encouraging a deeper appreciation for the magical world of books. It was a day filled with joy, laughter, and exploration of literary wonders.

UKMT Maths Challenge Results

The results are in!

The UKMT Maths Challenge took place on 31 January 2024 and has been a great success for many of our most gifted mathematicians in Years 9, 10 and 11. In total we had 57% of pupils gaining awards in the challenge.

To note, we had three pupils achieve a gold award, 24 pupils reached the silver award, and 50 pupils achieved a bronze award for their efforts in the challenge. Furthermore, two pupils scored so well that they have made it through to the next round on 21 March. So, more results to follow, along with the Years 7 and 8 pupils’ challenge to come in April. Congratulations to all participants.

Art House Competition – Results

Pupils have engaged in our annual Cams Creative Art Competition with the theme of Endurance Art committing 2-3 hours of time creating a piece of artwork using materials of their choice. Thank you to pupils for their entries securing valuable House points as detailed below.

Total Individual Entries: 40

Total Endeavour Entries: 8

Total Illustrious Entries: 4

Total Invincible Entries: 5

Total Warrior Entries: 14

Total Victory Entries: 9

Individual Results as follows:

In the Fine Art Category:

First Place: A Brace Year 7

Second Place: S Gowers Year 11

Third Place: N Steward Year 10

In the Photography Category:

First Place: E Parish Year 7

Second Place: [No further entries]

Third Place: [No further entries]

In the 3D/Relief Category:

First Place: A Dawson Year 8

Second Place: S Taylor Year 7

Third Place: G Grout Year 8

In the Mixed Media Category:

First Place: K Journeaux Year 7

Second Place: R Li Year 9

Third Place: O Purslow Year 9

In the Textile Category:

First Place: K Barron Year 7

Second Place: G Grout Year 8

Third Place: I Hutchings Year 7

We would also like to Highly Commend:

R Elliott and T Rattray

All the First-Place winners will receive a £15 Amazon Gift Voucher and those who placed Second, Third or are Highly Commended will receive certificates.

All entries will be displayed along the main corridor.

Written Accuracy Checklist

We are pleased to announce that we have implemented a ‘Written Accuracy Checklist’ to be used across all year groups. A poster outlining the expectations for proofreading is displayed in every classroom to serve as a constant reminder for our pupils.

Prior to submitting any written work, pupils are required to meticulously proofread for fundamental grammar and punctuation errors. It is imperative that they adhere to this practice to enhance the quality of their writing. We believe that this initiative will significantly improve the overall written accuracy of our pupils to support better outcomes in school and in life beyond.

Thank you for your continued support in fostering high standards of writing within our school community.

Statistics

House Points Averages per Pupil for This Week

Year 7 points

Year 8 points

Year 9 points

Year 10 points

Year 11 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 7.58 questions

Year 8 7.02 questions

Year 9 8.77 questions

Year 10 14.51 questions

Year 11 6.58 questions

Highest number of questions answered by one pupil this week

Year 7 109 questions

Year 8 86 questions

Year 9 56 questions

Year 10 85 questions

Year 11 94 questions

Not all Maths homework is set on MathsWatch, which is likely to affect the averages.

Educake – Science

Average number of questions answered per pupil last week

Year 7 31.44 questions

Year 8 30.38 questions

Year 9 23.86 questions

Year 10 65.81 questions

Year 11 147.63 questions

Highest number of questions answered by one pupil last week

Year 7 271 questions

Year 8 209 questions

Year 9 399 questions

Year 10 944 questions

Year 11 2181 questions