Have a fun and safe Halloween! ST SAMPSON’S HIGH SCHOOL PARENTS’ NEWSLETTER October 2015 Our school Facebook page for parents/carers is: St Sampson’s High School, Guernsey. We aim to keep Parents/carers up-to date with all the latest news and events, posting any last minute messages where possible. Parents/carers may find it useful to ask non urgent questions on here, of a general nature, which staff may be able to answer. Our Facebook page for parents/carers now has PE department Twitter feeds.
Transcript
Have a fun and safe Halloween!
ST SAMPSON’S HIGH SCHOOL PARENTS’ NEWSLETTER
October 2015
Our school Facebook page for parents/carers is: St Sampson’s High School, Guernsey.
We aim to keep Parents/carers up-to date with all the latest news and events, posting any last minute messages where possible. Parents/carers may find it useful to ask non urgent questions on here, of a general nature, which staff may be able to answer.
Our Facebook page for parents/carers now has PE department Twitter feeds.
epartment Twitter feeds.
A Message from our Headteacher
Dear Parents/Carers
Our new Year 7 students have settled in well to school life, we are getting to know them and Mr Ferbrache is looking forward to them being a very promising year group indeed. Prefects have been presented with their Tie and Prefect Badges and are undertaking their duties helping students to find their way round school, particularly the Year 7’s. We had a very busy Open Evening earlier in the month. Our students and staff were happy to show off their work, talents and escort visitors around our outstanding facilities. We received several compliments with regards to our school, welcoming members of staff and helpful students. I would also like to mention one of our students, Emins Belikovs and his recent Certificate of Recognition awarded to him by the Bailiwick of Guernsey Law Enforcement. Ermins has received this award for saving the life of a man in danger by quickly raising the alarm with adults nearby. You will have all seen the recent coverage in the Guernsey Press and we would like to add that we are extremely proud of Ermins and his heroic actions. On our return from half term we will be coming to the buildup of the Christmas period. Our annual Carol Service is due to take place on Wednesday 9th December at the Vale Church when all Parents, Carers, students and family members are invited to attend. The Choir and Orchestra have started their preparations and if you have not attended the Carol Service before it is highly recommended you do. With best wishes Yours sincerely
Mrs A Bolt Headteacher iPad Update Thank you to the many parents who supported our iPad project by buying their child an iPad to use in school. Without your support , we could not afford to buy for those families who cannot afford the outlay at this time. Here are some figures for you: In 2013 21% of parents purchased their child’s iPad In 2014 30% of parents purchased their child’s iPad In 2015 45% of parents purchased their child’s iPad We sent a questionnaire to parents via survey monkey in the Summer Term and, whilst we did not get a huge number of respondents here are the results:
100% of respondents had internet access at home 92% of respondents felt the work their child was doing on the iPads was innovative 93% of respondents felt the iPad had increased their child’s engagement with school 7% of parents felt iPads were a distraction at home 79% of parents felt their child was more organised with their iPad 79% of parents frequently supervise access at home 78% of parents felt their child carried out more research now they have an iPad A sample of parental responses on the benefits of iPads:
More keen to do homework Learning media skills New medium taking pictures of homework to show teachers more organised and more confidence I movies, easier access to the Internet, Show My Homework et A better understanding of technology our child is more eager to learn Easy access to educational apps and sites/ innovative teaching Increased engagement with studies engagement My child wants to come to school!
We also sampled, via questionnaire ,about 50% of Year 7 students in the Summer Term. Responses from students on what they found the iPad most useful were many and varied the sample is below:
MyMaths, French and writing stories. Research Looking things up Puffin Academy and Duolinguo Google classroom Dictionary Notes iBooks Homework Recording ourselves and learning from our mistakes Internet for information and facts English – helping me to read and write Making presentations Reading tests Calculator and internet Finding information Book Creator Reading Accelerated reader iMovie
The greatest concern from students was the regularity of internet access.
Staff news We welcomed new members of Staff to the School The following staff appointments/changes have been made: Mr Gareth Jones, HOD Math, Mrs Rebecca Chamberlain, 2nd in charge of Math, Miss Caroline Wilkes-Green, Teacher of Math, Mrs Christine Jones, HOD MFL, Mr Nigel Vernon, Science Teacher, Miss Sadie Addlesee, PE Teacher, Ms Rachel Lodge, English teacher on contract for a term, Ms Jennifer Keeping, Cover Supervisor, Ms Sophie Miller and Mrs Lois Francis-Jehan as Learning Support Assistants and Ms Faye Barclay covering maternity leave as a Science Teacher. Mr James Ferbrache as HOYr 7, Mr Sam Mauger HOYr 9 and Mr Giles-Phillips as HOYr 11.
Shoe Box Appeal Miss Harris is running the Rotary Shoebox Appeal again this year, after a great response last year. Students can find more information at: http://www.rotaryshoebox.org/ and Miss Harris has the necessary shoebox labels and information for completing them. Completed shoe boxes can be dropped at reception and leaflets and labels are available from Miss Harris. Shoeboxes will be collected by Rotary the week after half term (Nov 2nd onwards).
Swimarathon Around ninety SSHS students took part in the event held on the morning of 9th October this year. This was done as an inter-house event, with Brecqhou house coming out victorious, both in terms of laps achieved and money raised. In total our school raised £1, 664.21 (a record amount for this event!). One of our teams Brecqhou house achieved the most laps for a team in their age group, they were rewarded with a trophy. Members of the team attended a presentation at Beau Sejour on 21st October, along with team manager Miss Ozanne and House System Manager Mr Nicolle. St Sampson’s High School also received a trophy for the greatest contribution over the years to the Guernsey Swimarathon. Mr Nicolle should have particular mention as he does his utmost to organise the event and has done so over the past 10 years. We thank him for all his hard work. Skittles On two successive Wednesdays (14th and 21st October), we took some year 7 students to The Hampshire Lodge for games of Skittles. These were inter-house events so students enjoyed two hours of fun for £1.50 which included their games, soft drinks and prizes for the winners. Thirteen students attended on the first Wednesday and twenty on the second and the time flew by. Many thanks to The Hampshire Lodge for allowing us to play there and support with providing the refreshments for such a small charge.
Reminders and Requests
Headlice Could we please remind all parents to check their child’s hair on a regular basis. We have had a number of cases reported this term. If you do find lice please treat immediately, comb through the hair with a headlice comb ensuring all lice and eggs are removed before sending your child back to school. It is imperative that the hair is treated one week after the initial treatment and the hair combed regularly to ensure all lice and eggs are removed. Length of Skirts We have had many girls who have grown out of their skirts this term. We have requested that the uniform shops do not to sell the shorter 16” length and are requesting you, as parents not to buy them. Please do your best to ensure that at the start of the year skirts are no more then 2 inches above the knee. I accept that the girls grow as the year progresses, but starting with a modest length would be helpful. Safe Guarding of Children For the Safe Guarding of Children and health and safety, please could we remind Students that when students are feeling unwell in School that they should report to the office in the first instance. We have had a number of Parents arriving to collect students who have contacted home to pick them up. Students should be advising the class teacher they are unwell, the Teacher will then send them down to the office with a note in their student planner. They will be kept in the medical room and the Administration Staff who are all fully qualified in first aid will contact home if needed. Sickness/Absence from school Parents/Carers are reminded that if a student is not going to be in school due to illness that a phone call or e-mail is made to the office before 9am in the morning. The telephone number is 244411 and the e-mail address is [email protected]. Please advise what the medical condition is, i.e. Flu, cold or viral etc. If the student has had vomiting and/or diarrhea, they should not return to school until 48 hours after the last bout of sickness or diarrhea to ensure the virus is out of their system.
School Car Parks Please could we also remind Students and Parents that Le Murier carpark is strictly for the use of Le Murier School. All parents should be using the St Sampson’s High carpark pick up and drop off points to the left as you drive into the school gate. Please do not congest the car park by dropping off students at the entrance to the School. We also would like to remind students that using a shortcut from the Prison road, over the fence into Le Murier carpark is not permitted and a serious breach of Health and Safety regulations. One of our students recently had a bad experience jumping the fence and severely breaking their arm. Please stick to the paths provided and be sensible. GCSE Business Studies Trip The Manchester trip for Students undertaking Business studies left on 19th October. The Students have so far enjoyed a visit to the BBC studios where they were able to have photo’s with the Tardis, Darleks and sitting in the Voice Chair, a visit to Cadbury world, Nawaab Indian Restaurant, Red Hot World Buffet, Tour Old Trafford, the Trafford Centre and Primark !
Cadbury World – YUM!
Settling in at the Hostel Nawaab Indian Restaurant
Tutor2u conference - Entrepreneurs Live - Finalists
Red Hot World Buffet
Reading the News at the BBC HQ and visiting the Tardis!
I am a Dalek!!!
New panel of judges on the Voice!
Another all you can eat buffet? They’re gonna burst! Mrs McCarley you are not fooling us we can see you!
English News
The English G&T club “Dead Poets Society” recently completed poems for the National Poetry Day.
These poems were included in the Guernsey Press on Thursday 8th October. The poems were
inspired by the Charles Dickens novel Hard Times. Also, in English some of our Year 10 students are
working on poetry for this year’s Eisteddfod.
Careers Twitter
Follow Ms Kaufman on Twitter to find out what is going on in the Careers Department and Careers in school – SSHSRKN.
Please keep on looking at www.stsampsonshigh.com and go to the Careers page for up to date information and advice and guidance on Careers. We post current vacancies there too!
Careers Advice Services You can search information about lots of things relating to careers; how to apply for a job, finding a job and help with CVs to name but a few. Contact details below:-
PTA News
The Chairman of the PTA is Katy Davey and she can be contacted on 07781 115870 or by e-mail at [email protected] .
Contact: Sean Parry, Careers Adviser for St Sampson’s
T: 733024 E: [email protected] W: www.careers.gg New and Improved website!
You will find us in the Education Department at the top of the Grange.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8.30am – 5.00pm including school holidays
