Weekly Message 251 – 10 January 2025
17th January 2025
We sincerely thank parents/carers for your ongoing cooperation during the drop-off and pick-up times at the beginning and end of the school day. Your efforts greatly contribute to the smooth running of these very busy periods and the safety of your children.
We encourage as many pupils as possible to walk or cycle to and from school where it is possible to do so, not only for the environmental and health benefits but also to reduce traffic moving on and off the site and along Shearwater Avenue.
We kindly remind parents and carers that the staff car park is reserved for staff use only, and we ask that you use the visitors’ car park or the bus bay, which is part of the one-way system, when collecting your children. Additionally, we would like to remind our pupil cyclists of the importance of wearing cycle helmets when traveling to and from school.
Parents’ and carers’ continued support in these matters is invaluable in helping us keep all our children safe. Thank you once again for your understanding and commitment.
Portsmouth College Assemblies
This week a representative from City of Portsmouth College held assemblies with pupils in Years 8, 9 and 11. Pupils were given an insight into the range of post-16 courses and facilities available to them at each of their four campuses.
School Council
The full school council met on Tuesday, with representatives from all year groups and Mrs Newman and Ms Noble to discuss the school’s ‘Praise and Rewards’ system.
Mr Hudson praised the council for their valuable feedback, with the council acknowledging that the school has acted on previous suggestions they have made. Ms Noble is leading a review of the system and gathered pupil input on what they like, what they would change, and their new ideas. They also discussed the end-of-year rewards day.
It was a productive meeting, and Ms Noble will reconvene with the council after reviewing the feedback to plan next steps. Exciting changes are ahead!
Maths Countdown
Attendance Spotlight
Medical Appointments
Please inform the school in advance of any medical appointments via the Studybugs app or by calling 01329 231641. Whenever possible, schedule appointments after school to minimise learning disruptions. Evidence of the appointment (card, letter, or screenshot) is required. Without prior notice and proof, the absence may not be authorised.
Reporting Illness
When reporting illness on Studybugs, please provide us with specific details. A general note of “illness” is insufficient and may result in the absence being unauthorised.
Managing Absences and Seasonal Illness
We’ve seen a rise in absences due to common illnesses like colds, coughs, and headaches. Good attendance is vital for your child’s progress and wellbeing.
Send Your Child to School If they have:
- Mild symptoms (runny nose, cold, slight cough, headache) that don’t affect focus
- Tiredness or feeling “off”
- Early morning aches that improve throughout the day
Family illness is not a valid reason for absence. Please arrange alternate transport if needed. If you’re unsure about sending your child to school, contact us for support.
Balancing health and attendance can be challenging and we are here to support you. If you’re unsure about sending your child to school, please reach out to us for guidance.
Sports Results
Year 7 Basketball won against Bay house 20-6
Year 7 Netball won against Portsmouth High School 7-6
We were placed 2nd overall Southampton school netball tournament
Menu w/c 20 January 2025
new menu week 3
We will be featuring:
- Chef’s Pod- New York Chicken Burger on Thursday
- Warm Sweet Waffle with Chocolate Ice Cream and Sauce
- Hot Sweet- Chocolate Sponge and Custard
New bakery products- We are trialling some new products for a few weeks so it would be great to have any feedback.
- Price will be £1.20 for all packaged biscuits/cakes
- To add to the meal deal it would be an additional 25p to upgrade your dessert
- All the usual biscuits and cake will still be available
- The packaging includes ingredient lists with allergens
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.
African Adventures Fundraising Music Event – 1026 17/1/25
We Will Rock You – 0917 14/1/25
Celebrating our OFSTED Success – 1417 10/1/25
Sustrans Bike It Project – 1031 10/1/25
Statistics
House Points Averages per Pupil for This Week
Year 7 6.74 points
Year 8 6.41 points
Year 9 4.89 points
Year 10 4.39 points
Year 11 3.57 points
Attendance
This week – 92.1%
Same week last year – 93.1%
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 12.2 questions
Year 8 8.7 questions
Year 9 9.9 questions
Year 10 8.0 questions
Year 11 14.8 questions
Highest Number of questions answered by one pupil this week
Year 7 279 questions
Year 8 74 questions
Year 9 60 questions
Year 10 29 questions
Year 11 152 questions
Over 50% in Maths Homework
Year 7 50%
Year 8 41%
Year 9 43%
Year 10 47%
Year 11 32%
Over 75% in Maths Homework
Year 7 46 %
Year 8 35%
Year 9 31%
Year 10 32%
Year 11 14%
100% in Maths Homework
Year 7 18%*
Year 8 24%
Year 9 15%
Year 10 8%
Year 11 1%
*For example, this figure means 18% of Year 7 got 100% in their homework tasks.
Figures in green indicate maintaining or an increase from last week.
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 4pm.
Year 11 Maths Revision on Mondays – see schedule in Maths classrooms for details.
Maths Assessment dates for Spring Term
w/b 27 January – Year 10 – 2 papers, one using a calculator
w/b 3 February – Year 9 – non-calculator paper
w/b 10 February – Year 8 – non-calculator paper
w/b 10 February – Year 7 – Calculator paper (tbc)
w/b 25 February – 7 March – Year 11 – 3 full mock papers, one non-calculator
w/b 5 March – Year 10 set 1 – GCSE Statistics mock paper – details to follow
w/b 17 March – Year 10 sets 2 and 3 – 2 papers, one using calculator
w/b 24 March – Year 9 – calculator paper
w/b 31 March – Year 8 – calculator paper
w/b 31 March – Year 7 – Non-calculator paper (tbc)
A revision list will be published a week before the assessment to support with homework preparation for the test.
Assessments will be marked by the class teacher and then feedback will be given in class along with a pupil feedback sheet to support future learning.
Dates for the diary: Intermediate Maths Challenge (Wednesday 29 January), Pi Day bake-off (Friday 14 March)
Calculators and other equipment for sale
Casio fx-83GT scientific calculators can be bought via Scopay and collected from the Finance Office. Prices of these and other items for sale are shown below:
Casio fx-83GT scientific calculator- £9.00
Pre-packed pencil case – £2.50
Pair of compasses – 29p
Protractor – 9p
100 blank flashcards – £1.00
A range of GCSE Maths revision materials for KS4 use – See Scopay for details
Please note that pupils in Years 9 and 10, who are currently in middle sets for Maths are covering the Higher tier syllabus. This will be shown as Intermediate on the assessment feedback sheet that gets emailed home.
Educake – Science
Average number of questions answered per pupil this week
Year 7 55 questions
Year 8 21 questions
Year 9 52 questions
Year 10 74 questions
Year 11 57 questions
Highest number of questions answered by one pupil this week
Year 7 740 questions
Year 8 120 questions
Year 9 247 questions
Year 10 402 questions
Year 11 245 questions