Weekly Message 220 – 22 March 2024

22nd March 2024

Well done to our Year 11 Drama pupils who completed Component 3 of their GCSE Drama exam with an external examiner this week – their teacher has commented on the exceptional commitment from all!

Pupils in Year 11 are incredibly focused, capitalising on the knowledge and subject expertise of their teachers as they embark on their last few lessons with them. They will be receiving their Mock Exam results and predicted grades on Monday 25 March during afternoon tutor time which will further inform what needs to be done, ahead of their external exams.

Pupils will go on study leave after the May half term, with their final timetabled day on Friday 24 May 2024. After half term, pupils will only attend school for exams or scheduled revision sessions – specific details will be sent to parents/carers as soon as they are finalised.

We look forward to welcoming parents/carers into school on Tuesday 26 March for the second Parents’ Subject Evening of the year. We do ask that you consider your travel arrangements carefully owing to the roadworks on the A27.

End and Beginning of Term Arrangements

School closes to pupils on Thursday 28 March 2024 for the Easter break with pupils leaving at the end of the school day as usual. School reopens on Monday 15 April 2024 with pupils arriving at their usual staggered times. Please refer to the school calendar for key dates for the term ahead.

Year 9 Guided Choices

Thank you to all Year 9 pupils, parents and carers for joining us for the Guided Choices evening. Pupils will be provided with a link on 25 March 2024 in order to complete their Guided Choices form.

Year 10 Work Experience

Our best wishes to Year 10 as they venture into the world of work next week. A week to apply and learn new skills, follow a different routine, meet new people and to shape plans for the future. We look forward to hearing all about their experiences when they are back in school. Thank you to all the employers out there who have supported our pupils.

Disney Trip Netball Practice

Thursday 28 March 2024 – after school till 1630

There will be a netball practice after school on Thursday for all pupils enrolled on the Disney trip. Mrs Holden will be handing out netballs and hopefully hoodies if they have arrived by then.

Endeavour House Visit to QA Hospital NICU

Ickle Pickles invited Endeavour House to QA Hospital NICU to present items they had purchased using our recent donation. 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.

The NICU staff went above and beyond showing our pupils inside the ward itself to see the range of equipment used, from incubators to breathing assistance machines. The pupils now have tangible, first-hand experience to support our efforts to raise funds to help Ickle Pickles purchase items for the NICU ward to support parents during their stay.

Within Her Eyes

Last week the GCSE dance pupils took part in a workshop with members of James Cousins company focusing on the contact work used in ‘Within her eyes’. They explored the idea of fully trusting each other as well as giving and taking weight. They were also able to explore how they would interpret the movement linking it to previous knowledge and the choreographic intent of the work.

All pupils loved the experience and it was great to see them pushing themselves beyond their comfort zone.

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award School Camp and 100 Acres Walk

On Friday and Saturday, the new cohort of Year 9 Bronze candidates began their first training session for this year’s Duke of Edinburgh Award. They learned to pitch tents, cook their food on gas stoves and to carry their large rucksacks while navigating through dense, muddy woodland with a map.

The pupils were all great and we all look forward to more outdoor adventures with them over the remainder of the award. Thank you to the staff who give their time to enable this to happen.

Year 10 – The Speakers Trust

Twenty-two Year 10 pupils spent Monday in the Library to work with the Speakers Trust to give them some extra confidence and strategies for their GCSE Spoken Language Endorsement. By the end of the day, they all did their individual presentations. We were so proud of their achievement – well done! They came away from the day with some skills for life.

Jazz Cafe

Photos to follow next week

Yesterday we held our annual Jazz Café event for a sold-out audience of parents, carers, families, and staff. The evening included performances of Jazz and Soul inspired pieces and arrangements. There were performances from a number of soloists as well as our Concert Band, String Ensemble, Year 7 Choir, Year 8 Choir, Show Choir, Greenish and Soul Band.

The solo performers were accompanied by our ‘pit band’ made up of pupils and staff to ensure that all the music heard was performed live.

The standard of the performers was incredibly high and we are grateful to them for all their hard work preparing for the evening. Our thanks also go to all the staff working behind the scenes to make the evening such a huge success.

Uniformed Services Visit to Portsmouth

The Uniformed Services pupils were lucky enough to visit the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth this week where they had the opportunity to learn about the rich history and traditions of the Royal Navy.

Firstly, they were completely immersed in the atmosphere that the Mary Rose Museum creates and then they had the opportunity to join Nelson’s Navy and explore his flagship HMS Victory; it was decided by all that they would not have enjoyed life on board. We were also lucky enough to get a glimpse of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Finally, pupils were enlisted into the Victorian Navy and explored the first iron clad ship. They agreed conditions on board were better; however, they still all agreed they would not have enjoyed life on board. The day contained laughter, smiles and lots of learning.

Year 8 Rugby

In our triangular tournament on Monday, Cams Hill School beat Priory School 15-5 and drew with Oaklands Catholic School 15-15. All games being played in very, very tough ‘swamp-like’ conditions. Congratulations to all who took part.

Years 9/10 Volleyball

The Year 9/10 Volleyball Squad have qualified for the Hampshire Finals.

Hosted at Cams Hill on the following dates, come and support!

Tuesday 23 April – Year 11 Girls’ Finals

St Anne’s, Bishop Challoner, Portchester, Priestlands

Wednesday 24 April – Year 9/10 Girls’ Finals

St Anne’s, Horndean, Calthorpe Park, Brighton Hill, Priestlands, Romsey

Tuesday 30 April – Year 11 Boys’ Finals

Cams Hill, Priestlands, two other finalists to be confirmed

Wednesday 1 May – Year 9/10 Boys’ Finals (arrive from 2.30pm)

Cams Hill, Portchester 9s, Bishop Challoner, Portchester 10s, Priestlands, Romsey

Pi Bake Off Results

English House Challenge – Mission Catastrophe

For this challenge, pupils must write a story that captures the theme of catastrophe in under 100 words.

1^st Place will be awarded 100 House points

2^nd Place will be awarded 75 House points

3^rd Place will be awarded 50 House points

4^th Place will be awarded 25 House points

Each entry that meets the criteria will receive 10 House points.

Entries must be handed in to Mr Underwood in En3 by 29 March 2024.

Careers Spotlight – Guided Choices

It has been insightful to speak with so many Year 9 pupils in recent weeks about their Guided Choices and how these can lead onto their next steps and future careers.

On the Guided Choices and Careers Evening I also spoke with parents/carers who asked for advice on how to help their child choose their GCSEs thinking ahead to post-16 studies. There is a wealth of information online, the main website we have used with pupils is Careerpilot, they have a page dedicated to choosing GCSEs Careerpilot : Get information : GCSEs : Choosing your GCSEs. They also have a section based on jobs by subject Careerpilot: Jobs by subject which can give pupils a real insight into where each subject could take them in the future.

Statistics

House Points Averages per Pupil for This Week

Year 7 5.34 points

Year 8 4.08 points

Year 9 3.78 points

Year 10 5.15 points

Year 11 2.27 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 10.5 questions

Year 8 16.5 questions

Year 9 33.8 questions

Year 10 5.4 questions

Year 11 8.4 questions

Highest number of questions answered by one pupil this week

Year 7 118 questions

Year 8 81 questions

Year 9 123 questions

Year 10 44 questions

Year 11 101 questions

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

Upcoming Maths Assessment Dates

Year 7 – w/c 25 March

Year 8 – w/c 25 March

Year 9 – this week

Educake – Science

Average number of questions answered per pupil this week

Year 7 39.82 questions

Year 8 20.39 questions

Year 9 17.79 questions

Year 10 80.98 questions

Year 11 79.06 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

Fatty bacon – we are going to make our bacon crispier
Sauces and salt – we are going to improve our selection of sauces and have salt available – so that we can maintain this area, pupils have been reminded about the importance of keeping the condiments area clean and tidy
Herbs on paninis – lots of pupils have been enjoying the extra flavour of the herbs on the pizza baguettes so we are going to try them on the paninis too!
Croissants not always tasting fresh and soft – we are going to delay the cooking of the croissants and pain au chocolat to see if that helps

Thank you again to all those who offered feedback. We will continue to work on the rest of pupils’ ideas and will update you when we make any changes.

Encouraging Open Conversations at Home

Below is a link to information from the National College concerning encouraging open conversations at home.

View all news