| Newsletter

February 2020

elcome to the February edition of Wthe Newsletter! We were delighted with the attendance at our recent Parents’ Evenings, especially the Year 9 Options/Parents’ Evening, which saw 90% of our parents making appointments to speak to their child’s teachers. We really appreciate the time and effort parents make to attend such evenings. Parental attendance at such events sends a very powerful and important message to our students: that their parents care about their progress and behaviour, and want to work in partnership with the school. We do like to celebrate our students’ achievements in our monthly newsletter. A notable success this month for four of our top Year 13 students was being awarded a place at Oxford/Cambridge universities (see page 7). It is good to see our top academic students being rewarded for all their hard work and competing for and gaining places at the top universities in the country. Our Year 10 and 12 students had the very useful experience of a Mock Interview this week. My thanks go to local employers, governors and friends of the school who kindly agreed to come and grill some of the country’s future engineers, doctors, teachers, scientists, performers and tradespeople. I am sure they enjoyed it!

Our extra-curricular programme is a strength of the school. We aim to cater for all tastes. I am pleased to hear that the Eco Clubs are thriving (see page 18). We want our students to become responsible citizens and take care of our endangered planet. This newsletter also features an article (page 6) by Mr Waters about our Lytchett Character (PiXL Edge) programme. We are really hoping that parents will get behind this and encourage their children to get fully involved with it.

We have some exciting events coming up in the near future. Battle of the Bands is always guaranteed to be a most entertaining evening. I do hope you will come and support our budding rock and pop musicians on Tuesday 4th February. I am sure our Year 11 and 13 students (and their parents) do not need reminding that the GCSE and A level Mocks take place after the half term holiday. I would encourage all our students taking exams to revise thoroughly but to balance this with some sensible relaxation and exercise. This will ensure the time spent revising is effective.

I wish you all a very pleasant half term break.

 01202 622413 • www.lytchett.org.uk • /lytchettminsterschool

1 Student of the Month

Congratulations to the following students who were nominated as December and January’s Student of the Month:

English Maths LIBRARY Music

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available available

Issy Baskett Lucas Sibley Daniel Richardson-Shaper Isabel Massey

Year 11 Year 9 Year 8 Year 9

Graphics Psychology PE PE

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Amelia Dacre Freddie Howarth Pippa Barnard Olivia Critchell

Year 9 Year 10 Sixth Form Sixth Form

PRE FOOD History CHEMISTRY

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Ella Davies Emma Mccabe Elliott Bell Jack Craig

Year 8 Year 7 Year 10 Year 10

D & T COMPUTING

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Toby Meldrum Bobby Stroulger

Year 9 Year 8 2 DRAMA FRENCH Dance PHYSICS

James Wood Olivia Curran Polly Davies Erin Wilkinson

Year 10 Year 9 Year 8 Year 11

Wealden Agglestone KIMMERIDGE Gault

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Imani King Evie Robertshaw Maia Johns Trixie McQuaid

Year 10 Year 7 Year 7 Year 9

Purbeck Portland Sixth Form

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Amy Jerman Joe Smith Jude Brady

Year 9 Year 10 Sixth Form

Unwanted Containers

Any unwanted containers taking up precious room in your cupboards, sweetie containers or biscuit tins leftover from Christmas? If so, please donate them to the Food department where we can make use of them to help students who forget containers to take their products home in. We appreciate any you are able to donate.

3 GCSE Business Studies Trip

A group of students including GCSE Business, OCR Enterprise and marketing students spent a cold December morning at Farmer Palmer’s Farm Park attraction in Organford. The students found out how Farmer Palmer’s was set up, the problems they encountered, what market research they used and how important this was to them.

Students really enjoyed their morning there and were so grateful to Farmer Palmer’s for giving up their time and allowing them to visit.

Trip to Lille

On Thursday, 12 December, students from Years 7 and 9 set out on an overnight trip to Lille, France, for the annual Christmas market and the Euralille Centre Commercial.

All concerned were impressed with the great atmosphere and the friendly, welcoming people. The students immersed themselves in the French culture and made good use of their French language skills, despite occasionally being a little daunted by the native speakers! Equally impressive was the food – one student commented, “Who wouldn’t want churros for breakfast?!” – and the breathtaking views provided by the 18-metre high La Grande Roue – “A little tip: don’t wear a hat!”.

For a number of students, this was their first trip abroad, but they all had an amazing time, reassured by the friendly people they met and spending time with their peers. 4 Year 10 Geography Trip

Famous for going out in awful weather, we didn’t disappoint! The geography department embarked on a Year 10 fieldwork trip to Portsmouth to carry out geographical investigations. (In actual fact, the weather turned out to be kind!)

Students had already identified, from secondary data, the areas of the city they wanted to study as they considered how and why the quality of life varies within a city. Life expectancy in Portsmouth is nine years longer in some areas than others – an astounding fact in a developed, first world country.

This trip also included a lecture, at Portsmouth University, entitled“ How does where and when you are born affect your life chances?” After the lecture, the students walked (and shopped) at Gunwharf Quays, before ascending the Spinnaker Tower for a bird’s eye view of Portsmouth.

Throughout, our students were praised for their outstanding behaviour and manners. Professor Houston, Portsmouth University lecturer, commented that our students are “really attentive” and made “some great contributions”. Staff at Spinnaker Tower appreciated how Lytchett students “are so well-mannered – so many of them said ‘thank you'”. Even the coach driver was impressed: “They are one of the cleanest groups I have taken on a field trip– thank you.”

Talk The Talk workshop: a masterclass in communication

Earlier this month, Year 9 students worked with expert trainers from educational charity Talk the Talk, whose mission is to improve students’ communications skills, helping them to make positive interaction in all life situations. Talk about Communication is an exciting and engaging masterclass in essential speaking and listening skills within a creative classroom environment, teaching students to get their message across. The day highlighted employability skills, interview techniques and key presentation skills. Students were coached and supported throughout the day to deliver a structured two-minute presentation to the rest of the group on a topic for which they had a genuine passion.

When students stood up and voiced their opinions, shared their thoughts and presented their ideas, they were applauded by their peers and congratulated by their workshop leader and school staff alike. Students realised that speaking out is not a ‘life or death’ experience, but something that can be done – and something that is nowhere near as daunting as might have been thought.

5 Lytchett (PiXL) Character

Developing character in the children we teach has always been and will always be at the heart of everything we do at Lytchett Minster School. Last year we rolled out a new scheme to further develop these skills that everyone would agree makes a “well rounded child”. These include honesty, politeness, determination to succeed and respect, to name but a few, but also include the “soft” skills that businesses are crying out for such as Leadership, Organisation, Resilience, Initiative and Communication skills.

Once a week in tutor time the students participate in the PiXL Edge Scheme. The scheme is intended, over time, to develop and accredit the life skills and attributes that employers are telling us they need. This will give students a qualification which runs alongside their academic achievements and recognises what they can do as well as what they know. In order to gain the qualification at “Apprentice” level, students need to complete 10 activities from an approved list. The activities can be many and varied and can be undertaken in normal lessons, in extra-curricular clubs or outside of school. The students will have to complete 2 activities in each key attribute by the end of Year 9 to be awarded the “Apprentice” award. Progress on the scheme will be managed by students themselves using a specially designed on-line application, with tutors and Heads of House providing an oversight and awarding credits towards achieving the qualification. This is currently done in school during tutor time but can also be accessed from https://theedge.pixl.org.uk/

Each Year group is currently working their way through one of the key attributes.

Autumn Term Spring Term Summer Term Year Organisation Organisation Wellbeing 1-6 Leadership 7 Year 8 Leadership Resilience Wellbeing 7-13 Prepare to Year Initiative Initiative Communication 9 perform

Please talk to your child about how they are progressing and what activities they are doing and encourage them to complete them by the deadlines. If you have any questions about the Lytchett Values scheme please feel free to contact me: [email protected] Mr Waters

6 Student Achievements

Archie Weedon in the 6th Form has a London Marathon place in April. It is 2 days after his 18th birthday which makes him one of the youngest competitors. He will be running for the Ed Kent Trust; we wish him all the very best.

Congratulations to Rosie Painter (Year 13) who achieved 137/150 (Distinction) in her Grade 8 singing exam. Rosie has been one of the school’s key performers over recent years, taking major roles in the productions Into the Woods, Les Mis, Beauty and the Beast, and the Summer operetta, Not in Front of the Waiter or Under the Aspidistra and also singing (and playing saxophone) in the school’s Christmas and Easter concerts. We congratulate Rosie on this outstanding achievement!

Ex-student Cameron Wemyss, has recently had confirmation of his successful completion of his Gold DofE award. Cameron left Lytchett in June 2017 and is currently completing his third year at Portsmouth University reading BA (Hons) International Relations and Politics. At the end of his second year, Cameron was awarded ‘The Nelly Haddad Memorial Prize for International Understanding’ as the top performing student in Middle Eastern studies. He received a cash prize from the sponsor and a high tea in the Queen’s Hotel!

Oxbridge Students

Congratulations to Joel Stobbart and Rosie Painter who have been offered places at Cambridge University to study History (Joel) and English (Rosie), and to Edie Abrahams and Roza Bailey who have been offered places at Oxford University to study Biology. All for them thoroughly deserved this fantastic opportunity.

7 Sixth Form News

Reminder to all parents of students in sixth form:

 Any absence must be reported by phone or email to [email protected]. Contact must be made for each day of absence.  Students cannot report the absence themselves. This must be done by the parent / carer.  Medical appointments, university interviews etc must be notified in advance.

 Students are required to complete a foreseen absence form and return it to the office along with evidence of the appointment. The forms can be obtained from the Sixth Form Centre.  Students are not permitted to leave the school site during the day. Year 13 students are permitted to leave at the start of period 5 (2.25pm) if they have an independent study period.

Year 13/14 Mock Exams Year 13/14 mock exams will take place from Monday 24th- Friday 28th February. Year 13/14 students will be on Study Leave during this week when not in exams. Students are expected to meet usual expectations of dress code in each of the mock exams.

Teaching English as a Foreign Language

On the 7th and 8th of January, nine sixth form students came off timetable for a fantastic opportunity: to complete their TEFL qualification. Over the two days, students worked with Iona, a TEFL expert, who guided them through the process of how to teach students basic English. I am pleased to report that all students passed the course and are now qualified to work in countries across the globe.

Paired Reading

We would like to thank all the Sixth Form students who give up their time on a Wednesday morning to support Year 7 students with their reading. Over 70 Sixth Formers take part in this fantastic programme, listening to our youngest students reading aloud. The programme is organised by our librarian, Mrs Bossons.

If you have any questions about any items then please do not hesitate to contact the team via: [email protected]

8 Contacting your child’s House office

To aid quick and effective communication between parents and the House Offices we have recently introduced some new email addresses. Please could we encourage you to use these email addresses instead of individual staff email accounts - the main benefit to this is that if a member of staff is not in school and therefore unable to respond to your query, another member of the House team will be able to pick this up for you.

Agglestone House Office: [email protected] Gault House Office: [email protected] Kimmeridge House Office: [email protected] Portland House Office: [email protected] Purbeck House Office: [email protected] Wealden Office: [email protected] Sixth Form: [email protected]

Access to school letters

Introducing the new online communications archive! From this term, all general letters sent home to parents will be archived on our website for future reference.

http://lytchett.org.uk/wp/students/communications-archive/

9 Users of Microsoft Office

Did you know that school students can download Microsoft Office to home computers for free?

Find out more on our website: http://lytchett.org.uk/wp/students/ accessing-microsoft-office-at-home/

Reminders i) Leaving the premises

If your child needs to leave school for any reason, such as a medical appointment, please send a note to the Head of House or Deputy Head of House, who can then inform his/her colleagues and issue your child with a pass to leave the school site early. This pass must be handed in at main school reception before your child will be permitted to leave the school site. A departure without notice would only be given rarely and at the discretion of the Head of House.

ii) Absence

A telephone call on the first day of absence (to the Pastoral Support Assistant after 8.30 am) is expected if your child is unwell and will not be attending school, particularly if the illness is likely to extend for several days. Any absence must be covered on return by a note of explanation to your child’s tutor. Any requests for term-time holidays should be put in writing in advance to the headmaster. Absence for holidays during term time will be unauthorised except for very exceptional circumstances. Holiday absences of 5 days or more will result in a fixed penalty notice being issued.

iii) Collecting your child during the school day

Please could we also remind you that, whilst your child is at school, any contact with them must go through their House office. It is not appropriate for students to be using their mobile phones to ask a parent to come into school to collect them. This is a safeguarding issue. If you child is feeling unwell, or needs to contact you for a different reason, they should go to their House office.

iv) Meeting with a member of staff

If you need to see a member of staff, please could you contact the school to make an appointment. It is not always possible to release a member of staff from other commitments if a parent turns up at school unannounced. Visitors to the school must report to main reception to sign in and to receive a visitor’s badge. It is not appropriate for parents to go directly to House offices.

10 Important Information for Parents

E-Safety Champion - Mr Stephen Coombs Anti Bullying Champion - Mrs Sally McCarthy Designated Safe Guarding Lead - Ms. Sylvia Haddrell

11 Lytchett Minster School presents

Survival Short Story Competition

We were thrilled with the number of entries received for this year’s competition. The standard was fantastic and it was very hard to choose the winners. However, we are really pleased to announce the following winners and runners up: Overall Winner is Kai Hammett from Year 7 Year 7:Winner is Phoebe Sutton Year 7: Runner-up is Sophie Meade Year 8: Winner is Isobel Hobson Year 8: Runner-up is Ruby Bown

We thought it was important to also acknowledge those students who were short-listed. Year 7 —Jae Riddell, Joe Merritt, Melissa Mitchinson, Spike Knight, Emma McCabe, Lacey Hodgson, Jessica Peel, Evie Robertshaw, Ava Watts, Tamzin Harris Year 8—Olly Davis, Evie Pryor, Martha Wilson, Anna Fudge, Rhian Singleton, Anna Prystupa-Davies, Eva Hampston, Zach Pipe, Freddie Bramley, Tayo Partridge and Daisy Miles. Congratulations to everyone that took part! 12 Kindness by Kai Hammett

It’s cold, wet and dark. The 1st of December had finally come to pass and greeted the busy town with heavy downpour and chilly gales. He sheltered from the rain in a shop door crevasse and slumped onto the fairly dry floor. Putting his hood up and tightly tucking himself into a ball shape, he looked out onto the crowded, rush hour pavement. Occasional- ly, a person would blankly stare at the man, but only for a second or two while they hurried along with the rest of the crowd.

He sat like this for what seemed like an hour but then, a small girl, maybe seven or eight years old, stopped next to the man and sat down beside him. Confused, he called out to her, ‘Hello’. No answer. ‘Hello!’ he repeated, this time a bit louder. Still, the child didn’t say anything, though she did look at him between a blink, not moving her head at all. A few seconds passed and the shivering girl slowly edged towards him until, she touched the gloomy man. She leant on his shoulder and looked out onto the busy street. Still confused, he went along with it and let the girl lean on him, deciding to give up on conversation. Around ten minutes had gone by and the street seemed to have gotten busier. He closed his eyes for a while; just listening to pouring rain made him forge about all his problems. Unexpectedly, he felt an overwhelming presence, as if someone was standing over him. He opened an eye to see what was so bothersome. There was a lady holding out her soft, slender hand. Though, she wasn’t looking at him, but at the small, shivering girl beside him. She smiled and called out in a soft, but firm, voice, ‘Come’.

The girl looked at her, then at him, back at the woman, and took her hand. He opened his mouth to say something but noticed the woman carrying a bag full of tasty food and snacks. Deciding to let the child go with who appeared to be her mother, he sadly hung his head down towards the floor. As they joined the busy crowd, he followed the girl with his eyes and saw her looking back at him. He did this until she disappeared out of sight, and once again, he was alone. The downpour lightened up, and instead, soft, white snow drifted down to Earth. He lifted his head towards the heavens, peacefully closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. The man stayed there for a while.

He leant back against the shop door and put his hands in his pockets. Strangely, he felt something and pulled it out to see what it was. In disbelief, he rubbed his eyes and squinted at the object. It was definitely what he thought it was; a ten pound note! Tears fell from his eyes as he realised how it got there.

Sickness Absence

If you child is absent from school due to diarrhoea and vomiting the NHS recommends that people recovering should wait 48 hours before returning to school to prevent the spread of the virus and to make sure the child is strong enough to return. This is only a recommendation; however as a school we would urge parents to adhere to it to stop the spread of these illnesses. Thank you for your co-operation.

13 Sporting Achievements

Football

Year 7s took part in a ‘double header’ match against on one of the coldest days of the year so far. Year 7 (B) 4-2 loss (PEDSSA Cup) Year 7 (A) 9-1 win (Friendly) The team: Adam Hambleton, William Walton, Daniel Sewell, Charlie Anderson, Josh White, Josh Green, Ashton Goodall, Spencer Richbell, Charlie Patterson, Morgan Jones, Harrison Way, Sameer, Tom Hampson, Jonathon Lewry, Matthew Morse, Fintan Dowling, Luke Hare, Jess Selby and Monty Spence

Year 8s played a home match against St. Edward’s. 3-1 win in a friendly match. The team was: Leo Oldham, James Packham, George Kleinschmidt, Jacob Johnson, Ben Baker, Oli Davis, Will Goss, Benji Wade, Reegan Dunn, Charlie Skinner, Zach Pipe, Lucas Moreland, Kaiden Hayward and George Atkins

Year 9s played a friendly home match against St Edward’s coming away with a 4-2 loss. Year 10s also played a friendly home match against St Edward’s and they had a 3-3 draw.

Netball Year 7 Netball team: Teagan-maria White, Melissa Mitchinson, Jess Drury, Megan Sinden, Eden Studley, Sophie Meade, Phoenix Brown, Demi Pain, Skye Seymour and Nora Bruce. Year 8 Netball team started off the Netball League at this week; although the team played really well they were unable to secure a win, losing 6- 3 to . The team: Ruby Bown, Josephine Dolman, Queen Douglas, Mia Case, Gemma Cluett, Sienna Lawrence, Lily D’arcy Wykes, Daisy Miles, Sophia Faletto and Olivia Johnson Rugby

The Sixth Form rugby team represented the school and themselves with great credit and managed to win all their matches and hence the tournament at . They were admirably captained by Piers Mitchinson but I must make special mention of the following students who impressed me in a variety of ways:

Jake Terry from Year 11 who stepped up and made some valuable contributions throughout the afternoon. Harry Sullivan who had never played rugby before and after the initial panic of finding the ball in his hands and 3 large 17/18 year olds bearing down on him managed to pass the ball backwards to someone from Lytchett. His confidence grew throughout the afternoon and he tells me he enjoyed it. Luca Joyce and Matt Robinson who were in the front row alongside Harry Phillips and really impressed me with the attitude and approach they adopted. Harry Phillips for working hard around the pitch and having the bloodiest shirt at the end. Also, the worst taste in music. Charlie Kleinschmidt for being our line-out jumper who caught everything and one of his opponents was overheard saying, ‘What’s the point of jumping when he wins everything!’ 14 Sporting Achievements—continued

Jack Bosworth who made a line-breaking burst from his own half only to slow down noticeably as the line got closer and appeared to me to be running through treacle but he had enough energy to off-load the ball for a try. Harry Green who organised the team and is Lytchett’s Owen Farrell/Danny Cipriani. Jonte Robinson who is the silent assassin and no one wants him running at them at full speed. Miles Davis who is a quality player and was involved with everything that was good that Lytchett did. Eliot Jones who, for a footballer, was excellent and he just danced around the big guys leaving them on the floor and he was very proud of the cut eye he received when he collided with Charlie K. Alex Bruce who is a good player and who played out of position at scrum-half but was excellent. However, he didn’t last the final game as he cramped up and after my 4th attempt at trying to stretch his calf out he had enough and Piers decided it was time for him to get off and leave it to the fit guys.

We hope to do it all again in 3 or 4 weeks. Luca Joyce Matthew Robinson Harry Phillips Harry Sullivan Jack Bosworth Charlie Kleinschmidt Harry Green Piers Mitchinson Alex Bruce Miles Davis Jonte Robinson Jake Terry Elliot Jones

Report by Mr Laishley

15 Reminders

Parking on the school grounds: Parking on, and in the vicinity of the Lytchett site, particularly at peak times and in wet weather, can be problematic. Please could I ask you not to park in the narrow road outside the main entrance. It causes serious congestion and endangers students crossing the road. It may be wise to arrange to meet your child somewhere offsite to avoid the traffic congestion. Please could I also ask you to refrain from entering the staff car park in front of the Manor House as this is used by students as a main thoroughfare and there have been some near misses!

Mobile Phones within school: Mobile phones are not to be used in school between 8.45am and 3.25pm: they should be stored in student lockers. Students found using their phones during the school day will have their phone confiscated and will receive a 6 week phone ban.

Piercings

Our uniform policy is quite clear about earrings and other piercings:  Students may wear no more than one ear stud (small, or flush fitting) in each ear.  Other body piercing studs, rings, etc, including on the face and in the mouth, must not be worn to school under any circumstances.  Piercings that require a ring, retainer or object to remain in place whilst the site heals are not acceptable during school sessions.  Stretcher piercings are forbidden in school.

Students failing to comply with our uniform rules will be expected to remove the piercing immediately before they will be permitted to attend normal lessons.

Road Safety

PARENTS OF STUDENTS WHO CYCLE INTO SCHOOL

Please ensure your child is wearing a cycle helmet! We have had a number of incidents recently involving students not wearing a helmet.

Your co-operation with this would be much appreciated.

16 Remembrance Painting

Dear all, I would like to thank you on behalf of the committee, staff and members of Lytchett United Royal British legion, for the Remembrance Mural that you kindly painted. It is now displayed in our garden and, come better weather, will be a lovely place to sit and remember all those who bravely serve and have served for in the armed forces. Thank you once again, Kind Regards, Hayley Peach

Club Secretary Lytchett United RBL Club Ltd 93 Dorchester Road Upton BH16 5NW

Parent Forum

Parent Forum meets every half term. This is an opportunity for parents to come and discuss any aspect of school life (positive and negative) directly with the headmaster. Meetings are open to all and are advertised on the back of the newsletter with the calendar of events. For more information please contact [email protected].

PTA News

The PTA has a new email address. If you wish to contact a member of the PTA please use the following address: [email protected] The PTA Secondhand Uniform Shop will be open from 3.30pm until 4.00pm on:  Friday 7th February 2020  Friday 13th March 2020  Friday 3rd April 2020 Please come to main school reception between 3.30pm and 4.00pm. If you have any unwanted uniform in good condition that you wish to donate please send this in to main school reception, marked for the attention of the PTA.

17 Lytchett Lecture Series Inspire, Challenge, Enthuse

‘Making small stuff big— Microscopy with light, electrons and X rays’ Thursday 19th March 2020, 6.00pm: Presented by Dr. Dave Johnson, Biomedical Imaging, University of Southampton

‘Poole Harbour Osprey reintroduction programme’ Thursday 2nd April 2020, 6.00pm: Presented by Paul Merton, Birds of Poole Harbour

All lectures are free of charge and held in the Theatre. Lectures are open to students, parents and the wider school community. Places are limited so please reserve your seat by booking through Wisepay or email: [email protected]

18 Eco Clubs

Over the Autumn Term the Eco Clubs have been making an effort to improve awareness and have been involved in a few projects around school:

 The staff have raised £100 for the Woodland Trust by making donations instead of sending Christmas Cards.  Sixth Form Green Committee have been publishing green tips around the school on the notice boards and collecting crisp packets to be recycled.  Around the school students have been bringing in eco bricks, made from plastic bottles packed tightly with non-recyclable rubbish, which will be used in an art project during the summer.  Wildlife Watchers are eagerly awaiting the arrival of nesting birds to our bird boxes, which the IT department are setting up webcams in.  The school will also be participating in the RSPB schools’ bird watch.  Climate change club sold raffle tickets in aid of the Woodland Trust and raised a total of £50.

Big Garden Birdwatch

Here at Lytchett we will be taking part in the RSPB Schools’ Birdwatch survey; if your child would like to be involved please ask them to speak to Mrs Collier. The RSPB Garden Birdwatch survey has been launched, recently, if this is something your family would like to take part in, please follow the link to the RSPB website.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/

Charity News

On 18th December Miss Harrison and a team of Wealden students hosted a Christmas hot chocolate and cake stall to raise funds for the Maternity Unit in Poole Hospital Charity Elf Campaign. We managed to sell out and raise a total of £100.30. Thank you to all who donated cakes.

19 Library News

Did you know that you can choose from over 100 different digital magazines with a public library card? The magazines are available at the same time as they appear on newsagents shelves and each title comes with at least 12 months of back issues to explore. You can create a free account at https://dorset.rbdigitalglobal.com/

The Ed Kent Trust

To mark what would have been Ed’s 18th birthday this year, the Ed Kent Trust will be holding a charity fundraising evening: “An Evening with Phil Tufnell” on Thursday 5th March at the Hamworthy Club at 7pm. To purchase tickets email [email protected]

20 The Lytchett Learning Centre

A number of parents have asked for information about our Learning Centre, which is situated at the bottom of the school drive. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions (and answers): 1. What is the purpose of the Learning Centre? The Learning Centre is a facility designed:

 to help Key Stage 3 students who are struggling to meet our expectations with regard to behaviour in lessons and/or around the school  to support these students with their emotional and social needs so that they feel valued as individuals and feel confident and capable of developing positive relationships with other students and adults  to support these students with their behaviour for learning  to provide these students with intensive support in English, maths and science so that they can better access the curriculum  to offer these students an alternative curriculum (in addition to the core subjects) that will challenge and motivate them  to avoid permanently excluding these students  to ensure that the learning environment in the main school is conducive to effective learning.

2. Can any student go to the Lytchett Learning Centre?

No. Places are limited to 8 at any one time. It is only intended for Key Stage 3 students (i.e. in Years 7, 8 and 9). We are constantly monitoring students’ behaviour in the main school. Where students are perceived to be struggling to cope with our expectations (e.g. if we note they are accruing a significant number of negative referrals or being frequently relocated), their names are put forward by Heads of House for consideration for the Learning Centre. Students on the shortlist are invited for a tour of the learning centre with their parents/carers and have a meeting with the headmaster, prior to the final decision being taken about when they will start there.

3. Who runs the Learning Centre? Mr Daniels is the teaching lead, and Mr Douglas is the behaviour lead. They are line managed by Ms Haddrell, Assistant Headteacher. 4. How long do students stay in the Learning Centre? Six weeks is the target. Some students stay longer than this; it depends how well the students respond. The aim is always to get students back to the main school when we feel they are ready to learn in such a way that other students’ learning will not be adversely affected.

5. What does a typical day look like in the Learning Centre?  Students are required to arrive in full school uniform at the Learning Centre at 8.30am.  Breakfast is prepared and eaten by the students under staff supervision.  Literacy, numeracy and science are taught daily. Other subject areas are taught over the course of each week. In the afternoons students get the chance to go to a local farm or sports centre, and have access to the school’s fantastic horticulture area. The social and emotional aspects of learning will be included as a core part of the curriculum.  Students are not allowed to leave the Learning Centre during the school day, including break and lunchtimes.  Lessons end at 2.45pm.

21 Community Notice

Lytchett Manor Striders will be holding the Lytchett 10 mile road race. It takes place on Sunday 9th Febru- ary, starting at 10:30am from Lytchett Minster school, there will be 700 runners, running through Lytchett Minster and Lytchett Matravers. We would love locals to come out and support the event. If you are interested in joining Lytchett Manor Striders, please go to their website. www.lytchettmanorstriders.org

Car Parking on the school site

Please remember to park considerately when dropping off or collecting your child. Everyone is in a hurry - parents, staff and students. We all need to remember to give way, park sensibly and drive slowly whilst on the school site. It will make for a much more pleasant start and end to the school day for everyone! Thank you.

This certificate was received for the carbon capture charge that the school pays on its paper orders.

This is to certify that Lytchett Minster School has created 113.40m² of new native woodland in the UK to remove 4,536 kg of Carbon Dioxide January—December 2019

22 Lytchett Amnesty Group

Lytchett Amnesty Group: China's Uighur Muslims

The current campaign being supported by the Lytchett Amnesty Group is one raising awareness about the plight of China’s Uighur Muslims. The Uighurs are a mostly Muslim Ethnic minority that are concentrated in China’s north-western Xinjiang region. China is facing growing criticism over its persecution of some Muslim minority groups, huge numbers of whom are allegedly being held in internment camps. In August 2018, a UN committee heard that up to one million Uighur Muslims and other Muslim groups could be being detained in the western Xinjiang region, where they're said to be undergoing "re-education" programmes. These claims were made by human rights groups, but China denies the allegations. At the same time, there's growing evidence of oppressive surveillance against people living in Xinjiang. Human rights groups claim that people in the internment camps are being forced to learn Mandarin Chinese and criticise or renounce their faith. Former prisoners of the camps have told the BBC about physical and psychological torture and whole families disappearing. Recently a US teenager’s TikTok video raising awareness of the plight of Muslims in China went viral. The post appears to be about beauty tips at its start - but the young woman then changes tack to ask her viewers to raise awareness of what she describes as a "another Holocaust". TikTok is owned by a Chinese company and they temporarily deleted the video. You can watch the video here. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=2VR3xGGE36I Amnesty International are currently running an email campaign asking the President of China to release a man called Yiliyasijiang Reheman so that he can return to his family. The Lytchett Amnesty group has been sharing this link on social media to encourage others to send the email. We have also been delivering assemblies to raise awareness about this issue. You can send your own email using the link below. https://www.amnesty.org.uk/write-for-rights/action/ yiliyasijiang-uyghur-china-camps?from=issue

The Lytchett Amnesty Group meets every Monday lunchtime in room 12 with Mrs McGee. Students from years 9-13 are welcome to join us. We choose a new campaign every half term. For more information please pop into room 12 to see Mrs McGee or email her on [email protected]

23 Important Dates

Tuesday 4th February (7.00pm): Battle of the Bands Wednesday 12th February (7.00pm): Parent Forum Thursday 13th February (4.00pm—8.00pm): Year 13 Parents’ Evening Friday 14th February: Year 11 Full Reports home Monday 17th February to Friday 21st February 2020—HALF TERM Monday 24th February: Year 13 Mocks Tuesday 25th February: Year 10 Immunisations Wednesday 26th February: Year 10 Immunisations Thursday 27th February (4.00pm—8.00pm): Year 11 Parents’ Evening Friday 28th February: Year 12 Progress Reports home w/b Monday 2nd March: Yr10 Work Experience and Year 11 Mock GCSEs Friday 3rd April: INSET DAY Monday 6th April to Friday 17th April—EASTER HOLIDAYS

Trip Calendar

2nd April 2020 Ski Trip for Yr8, Yr9, Yr10 and Yr12 - Fully Booked Easter Holidays 2020 India Trip for those taking GCSE in Yr10 or 11, or A level PRE Fully booked. June 2020 French Exchange 2020

29th June 2020 Paris Trip for Yr10, Yr11, Yr12 and Yr13 who are studying French at KS4 or 5 10th July 2020 Battlefields Trip for those taking History in Yr10—Fully Booked July 2021 World Challenge trip to Tanzania

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