Weekly Message 260 – 28 March 2025
31st March 2025
Geography Fieldwork at Hill Head
Good luck to our Year 10 pupils who take part in their work experience next week. It will be a great opportunity to develop transferable skills, such as communication, teamworking, problem-solving, and timekeeping as well as gaining an understanding of how organisations work. We look forward to hearing about their experiences after the Easter Break.
We remind parents and carers of Year 11 pupils that the Parents’ Subject Evening is taking place on Tuesday 1 April 2025 in school. If you have yet to book appointments, please do so as soon as possible using the link provided in the letter dated 20 March 2025.
School closes to all pupils for the Easter holiday at 1450 on Friday 4 April 2025 and re-opens on Tuesday 22 April 2025 (Week B).
Fundraising Concert in Aid of African Adventures
Last week we hosted the Band of Hampshire and IOW Constabulary for a fundraising concert in support of African Adventure school trip taking place in July. The money raised is being used for the projects that staff and the 48 Year 10 pupils will take part in whilst in Nakuru such as constructing classrooms, kitchens, and toilet facilities, as well as providing free meals for children in need.
The Band played a mix of music such as War of The Worlds, Festive Overture, Stevie Wonder Medley and several Marches, including The Dambusters. In the second half of the concert, four Cams Hill pupils were invited to play with the band, and it was good to see J Sims (Year 10) and B Dunkley (Year 8) both on clarinet and J Hargreaves (Year 7) and T Hutson-Walsh (Year 7) both on trumpet, take part. The band really enjoyed having them as part of the team!
Overall, with ticket sales, refreshment sales and donations, the evening raised £810 for our projects in Nakuru and Mr Morrison extends a big thank you to all those who supported in any way.
Geography Fieldwork – Hill Head
Year 11 Geographers have been out at Hill Head this week, enjoying the Spring sunshine while conducting their final piece of physical fieldwork ahead of their GCSE Paper in June 2025.
Their investigation titled “How successful are the groynes at Hill Head?”, involved pupils taking measurements to assess whether the groynes are still effectively serving their purpose. The activity also provided a great opportunity for pupils to reinforce their curriculum knowledge as part of their exam revision, particularly focusing on the area’s hard engineering strategies and their impact.
Passers-by commented on how polite and well-behaved our pupils were, praising them for representing the school so well. Thank you, Year 11, for an excellent outdoor learning experience.
Year 8 Trip to see Hamilton
Year 8 pupils had an unforgettable experience watching Hamilton the musical at the Mayflower on Thursday. They were captivated by the powerful storytelling, incredible performances, and vibrant music and they gained a deeper appreciation for history, particularly the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton, through the dynamic blend of hip-hop and theatre.
The pupils’ impeccable behaviour and courtesy in the busy theatre demonstrated their respect for both the performers and fellow audience members in an exciting cultural setting. Thank you to the staff for giving their time to accompany the pupils, and to the pupils for a most enjoyable trip
Non-School Uniform Day
A huge thank you to all pupils, parents, and carers who generously donated to our non-school uniform day in support of the African Adventures Foundation. So far, we have raised an incredible £1,117, which will make a real difference to the three schools we will be working with in Nakuru.
Below is a link to an article about one of these schools, Jubilee Academy, where you can see firsthand how your donations may help. Their long-term goal is to expand their number of classrooms, allowing more children to stay in education for longer. https://www.africanadventures.co.uk/news/spotlight-on-jubilee-academy/
We are still accepting donations, and Scopay will remain open until Friday, 4 April. Thank you again for your kindness and support!
Maths Countdown
Supporting Boys in the Digital Age
Following the recent Netflix drama ‘Adolescence’ please take time to read the attached document ‘Supporting Boys in the digital age.’ The document also has a link to understanding the meaning behind emojis.
Supporting boys in the digital age
How to Talk about Misogyny
The Netflix short series ‘Adolescence’ has got a lot of people concerned and talking about misogyny, the manosphere, incels and much more. For parents/carers this can be a difficult conversation to have especially when you don’t know where to start.
Thankfully, Internet Matters has a fantastic guide all about this subject, things you need to know, to understand the pressures and more. You can find all the information HERE.
What is Financially Motivated Extortion?
FMSE is where someone threatens to release explicit images of a child victim unless they pay money or other financial demand (such as Bitcoin, pre-paid gift card, etc). It is a form of child abuse which is getting worse.
The National Crime Agency has a great article explaining all about FMSE, how to talk to your child and what you can do should your child become a victim. The guide can be found HERE.
Sports Results
Year 9 Football – a win against Henry Cort 6-2
Year 7 Rugby – a win against Bay House 15 tries to 0 with a total of 75 points to Cams Hill
Menu w/c 31 March 2025
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.
Non-School Uniform, 28 March – sent Wednesday 19/3/25 1322
Update on Drama lesson footwear policy – sent Tuesday 18/3/25 1024
Meeting concerning relocation of Henry Cort Community College – sent 1415 Thursday 13 March 2025 – (we were asked by Hampshire County Council to send this message to all parents/carers)
Road Safety – sent 1515 Monday 10/3/25
Statistics
Positive Behaviour Points Averages per Pupil for This Week
Year 7 7.65 points
Year 8 5.01 points
Year 9 4.55 points
Year 10 3.89 points
Year 11 2.51 points
Attendance
This week – 93.8%
Same week last year – 91.6%
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 15.1 questions
Year 8 14.1 questions
Year 9 21.4 questions
Year 10 6.6 questions
Year 11 11.9 questions
Highest Number of questions answered by one pupil this week
Year 7 157 questions
Year 8 64 questions
Year 9 176 questions
Year 10 45 questions
Year 11 72 questions
Over 50% in Maths Homework
Year 7 91%
Year 8 69%
Year 9 65%
Year 10 52%
Year 11 47%
Over 75% in Maths Homework
Year 7 78%
Year 8 49%
Year 9 37%
Year 10 36%
Year 11 25%
100% in Maths Homework
Year 7 45%*
Year 8 20%
Year 9 8%
Year 10 9%`
Year 11 6%
*For example, this figure means 45% 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 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.
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
Educake – Science
Average number of questions answered per pupil this week
Year 7 26 questions
Year 8 21 questions
Year 9 234 questions
Year 10 73 questions
Year 11 70 questions
Highest number of questions answered by one pupil this week
Year 7 400 questions
Year 8 249 questions
Year 9 1234 questions
Year 10 338 questions
Year 11 444 questions