Aylesford School and Sixth Form College
NEWS AND VIEWS DECEMBER 2020 From the Head
CONTENTS
Art Department MFL Department P.E. Department Science Department Drama Department Christmas Hampers Teaching and Learning Year Group News Sixth Form
Primary Phase Library Face mask competition winner! Condolences Annual Christmas card competition winners! Face Masks Christmas Hamper! Safeguarding Notices
Dear Parents/Carers and friends of the school,
This is the time of year when we traditionally look back to consider the past twelve months in the company of our friends and family. Although it has been a tremendously difficult year for all of us, I do think that we have an opportunity to both celebrate our achievements and look forward to the future with greater optimism.
At a time of crisis our school community has worked together to ensure that all the young people in our care have been kept safe and received the education they need. The steadfast support that parents and carers have given the school has been an essential part of this process and I would like to pass on my thanks to everyone who has taken the time to offer help or words of encouragement to our staff over the past nine months. This year our school community has clearly demonstrated that even in the most challenging of circumstances we will not be stopped from doing the things that need to be done for the young people in our care.
Of course it is these children who provide the real spark that makes Aylesford School so special. I am in awe of the way in which they have calmly adapted and adjusted to what must have been a very frightening and disorientating few months for all of them. In particular, the way in which they have sought to look after those friends and peers who have struggled during the pandemic should be a source of both pride and admiration for all of us.
It is inevitable that COVID-19 will cast some shadow over Christmas this year but as the contents of this newsletter clearly demonstrate that we can still look to the future with some optimism.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a safe and very Happy Christmas.
Best Regards
Tim Hodgson Headteacher
Aylesford School and Sixth Form College http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk Tapping Way · Warwick · CV34 6XR · 01926 747100
ART DEPARTMENT
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
ART DEPARTMENT
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
ART DEPARTMENT
A great big thank you to all students who entered this year’s Christmas Card Competition. As always, the standard was very high, making it a difficult choice for Mr Hodgson. However after much deliberation he has chosen Year 10 student Beth Reynolds’ design as the winning entry. Beth’s design will be used as the Aylesford School Christmas card this year and she will also receive a pack of cards with her design on as well as 10 house points. In joint 2nd place are Year 9 student Clemmie Jones and Year 7 student Georgia Ritchie, who each receive 8 house points. Congratulations to our three winners for producing such stunning designs and thanks again to all who entered. House
points have been allocated to you all. Merry Christmas everyone!
1st place design by Beth Reynolds Y10 Primary Phase winning design by Evelina Bythell, Eagle Class
Joint 2nd place designs by Georgia Ritchie Y7 and Clemmie Jones Y9 http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
MFL DEPARTMENT
The Day of the Dead
What is it? The Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos or Día de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated in Mexico and elsewhere associated with the Catholic celebrations of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, and is held on November 1 and 2. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pray for and to remember friends and family members who have died. It is commonly portrayed as a day of celebration rather than mourning. This year the MFl department wanted to create some half term fun and celebrate the Day of the Dead. We asked students to get creative. We were not disappointed! We had lovely cakes and biscuits baked. We had face painting and dressing up and we even had some mask making. Have a look at some of the fantastic creations from our students.
Mrs Hensel Head of MFL
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
PE DEPARTMENT
Ferran Muhammad Redza in 9NUN (pictured right) won the Men's Adult Championship at Warwick Tennis Club on Saturday 19th September. He can still play in the U14, U16 and U18 Junior Championship but he played in the men's instead and won! Congratulations Ferran.
If you have had any similar out of school success in sport, please let a member of the PE Department know and we’ll look to publicise them in future newsletters.
PE Department
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Year 10 CGP books
All of the Year 10 students here at Aylesford School have been given a CGP guide for help with their learning and consolidation for their GCSE Science course. The books are an excellent resource of need to know information, slim line to easily fit in school bags and even have end of chapter questions to help students assess their own knowledge. Parents and carers are encouraged to make a donation via Parentpay towards the cost of the books.
Pictured right: Mrs Goult, Head of Science
Year 11 Catch-up in Science
A six week intensive after school catch-up programme has been running for Year 11 students to help them catch-up with lost learning from lockdown. Students have been identified and invited to weekly 45 minute sessions where the focus is on retrieval practice. The new GCP knowledge organisers coupled with the workbooks are being used to help students to work smart and boost their science understanding as well as recall of key information ahead of their GCSE assessments.
Science website facelift
The new section of the Aylesford School website has gone live for the Science department. It is packed full of fabulous websites to support the teaching and learning of science as well as information to plug the gaps which may have happened post lock-down. Please do take a look and encourage students to use this resource at home.
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Water is a fascinating substance and the subject of an article by our Second in Science, Miss Holyman (pictured below). Miss Holyman has written a four page article aimed at A-level Chemistry students and was published in the latest edition of Chemistry Review. This is a full colour magazine is for post-16 chemistry students and published in partnership between Hodder and the University of York with the aim of making chemistry exciting and understandable.
Miss Holyman said: "Water is a substance often studied in science because of its importance in life and its usual property of its solid (ice) being less dense than water. So, when asked to contribute to the magazine, it was a natural choice of subject. " "I hope that articles like mind fire up young minds so that they want to take their chemistry studies further," she added.
Aylesford School and Sixth Form College has been part of active research with Lancaster University's Science Hunters programme to look at how Minecraft computer games can be used to model scientific conceptions in outreach programmes.
Minecraft is a computer game that allows children to build with a wide range of blocks and can be used to engage children with science. A new topic, on bioluminescence, was designed in collaboration with staff and students at our school. The outcome of the research was published this term as an academic paper in the School Science Review journal from the Association for Science Education. The authors of the paper included our Second in Science, Miss Holyman and two former pupils, M Payne and Yasmin Ricketts.
Miss Holyman said: "It was wonderful to work with 6th formers to help them understand how real research happens and is communicated. As well as working with students to test and design Minecraft activities about Bioluminescence. I was particularly excited with the work of Callan Jones, now in Year 11, who designed and wrote clear accessible instructions of how to make a model firefly in Minecraft!"
The Bioluminescent session was then tested with a primary school (Woodrow First School) and a secondary school (South Bromsgrove High School) in Worcestershire, UK, with benefits for all involved: practitioners gained direct access to the views of students, while students contributed to the development of a nationwide resource, giving them a sense of ownership and insights into research and professional practice processes.
After the lockdown, many GCSE students have some catching up to do and may have a lack of confidence in approaching exams. So, Miss Anstey, Head of KS3 Science, has been working with Hodder authoring the AQA GCSE Chemistry and AQA Trilogy Exam Insights series.
The aim of Miss Anstey's first published book, is to improve students grades by focusing on the lessons learnt from previous exams and the examiners reports. The workbook contains targeted revision with short clear summaries, model answers and of course lots of practice questions.
Miss Anstey said: "It has been a wonderful project to work on and has made me think about the tricky parts of the GCSE specification while working with other experts in AQA exams. This means that the in-depth knowledge and skills that I have gained can be rolled directly into my targeted catch-up to help to the students here at Aylesford."
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Socially Distanced Science
Practical science is a fun and important part of every child’s secondary education and Aylesford is striving to ensure that every student has access to some level of hands on experience in science. With COVID restrictions meaning that many lessons are no longer unable to take place in laboratories; Science staff have been working hard to provide innovative new ways to express concepts and ideas. Additional sets of text books, lots of plasticine and play doh have been employed to support every topic. By focusing teaching in this way we have managed to maintain practical lessons for nearly all of Year 11 and all Sixth Form groups. These classes have their lessons in labs and we are trying to ensure lessons are as normal as possible whilst complying with national guidance. These are unusual times but the department feels that it is important all students have variety in their lessons and it isn’t all just watching Youtube clips, filling in worksheets and reading from text books. Students have made model cells, looked at stomata in leaves, observed teacher led demonstrations including dissections and extracted DNA from peas and bananas. We will continue to try and bolster every child’s education in this way until we can return to normal and get back into the lab. Then the fun will really begin as students will get the opportunity to catch up on any key skills or practical time missed.
DRAMA DEPARTMENT
The new academic year has started in Drama with both staff and students alike, keen to continue their studies. We have welcomed our new Head of department, Mrs S.Purcell. New year 7 pupils have been introduced to a history of Drama & theatre and have took to the subjects like ducks to water. Year 11 pupils have been very busy catching up with their practical studies, after lockdown in preparation for their GCSE performances. Although, unfortunately there will be no school production this year because of the restrictions, the Drama team have been busy, in conjunction with the music department making early plans for the 2021/22 school show. What will it be? Now that would be telling...
Year 11 Drama Students Exam Performance Day Success
Our drama students performed their superbly prepared devised pieces on Thursday 3rd December in Prospero with new lighting and sound equipment. Each group worked hard to produce their own piece of theatre based on David Bowie's song lyrics 'Oh You Pretty Things'. This stimulus provided an exciting springboard for ideas from a dystopian future to nightmares and phobias. It has been a challenging term due to the current situation, isolations and restrictions, and our students have shown remarkable resilience and determination to ensure they were ready and prepared for this performance. Every member of our drama cohort took part and achieved their potential and beyond and should be very proud of what they have achieved. Well done to you all! Mrs Purcell & Mr Leigh http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
CHRISTMAS HAMPERS
On Friday 4th December 2020, Corey Lake, Mr Scholes and I (Thea Mort) headed out on the minibus with the hampers, beautifully made by the students of Aylesford School. We arrived at school at 11:30 and drove over to Leamington, to the location of the Helping Hands Community Project. They are a local charity, doing excellent work in both Warwick and Leamington. The work they do helps the homeless to get back on their feet, to feel more secure in themselves, play a role in the community and get back into a job. They provide a range of activities such as a soup kitchen; advice and referrals and volunteering opportunities to build skills and self- esteem. The link to their website is https://www.helpinghandscharity.org.uk/ if you’d like to check it out and possible give support to the work they are doing. It’s always especially hard in the winter months and these difficult times we all face mean your support is all the more valuable. We dropped the hampers off here and they were extremely grateful and thought that all the hampers were lovely, with a special mention to tutor groups 7FRL, 10WLS&10DBR and 9BNS, whose hampers we took photographs with since they looked so good! After we left here, we continued on to the Warwick District food bank, located at Saltisford Church in Warwick. This food bank is a brilliant charity which is very close to us here at Aylesford, since they provide vital support for those in the local area. They ensure that those referred to them in crisis can be fed and they get 3 nutritionally balanced meals and any support they need. Again, if you’d like to do any more research or donate anything to them, the link to their page is https://warwickdistrict.foodbank.org.uk/. We left the hampers in the church hall here and, similarly to Helping Hands, they were extremely grateful to everyone at Aylesford. This time, the special mention goes to 12GLT whose beautiful hamper was included in the picture at Warwick Foodbank. Thank you so much to all tutor groups at Aylesford for all your contributions and this was a wonderful opportunity to be able to see the great organisations that benefit from these hampers and all the work they’re doing to help build up our community.
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Covid Gap
We are living through history as it is being made. Never have schools in the UK operated remotely as they have been during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. This has been a different way to teach, a different way to learn. For some families this has been difficult and may have caused the youngster to be unlikely to hit their expected educational milestone. The amount of work that students did in lockdown has varied a great deal. With some working many hours and making huge leaps in independent study. However, one study from University College London (UCL) concluded that a fifth of the country’s 10 million schoolchildren have done no work at home during lockdown or less than one hour per day. So, how can we support our youngsters to bridge the gap and make up for lost time? The biggest concern is the mental health of our youngsters. They can find the safety rules and new processes overwhelming. As well as being anxious about catching the virus. So, at Aylesford we have been supporting students with Well-being Wednesday, where form tutors engage in activities designed to help students have a more positive mental attitude. There is also a wellness calendar which is provided by Miss Mottet with ideas and techniques that you can try every day of the week to support a positive mind-set.
The academic gap that many pupils are facing has been named ‘the Covid gap’. To bridge this gap, we cannot expect that all the content for the missing five months will be covered. So, the key to catching up is not to try and get through all the content but to build metacognition, or learning to learn. This is so that youngsters can work smart and not work too hard. Staffordshire research schools have put together some helpful hints for parents and careers to support their children at home at:
https://researchschool.org.uk/staffordshire/resources/supporting-home-learning-series/
At school we are working hard to find the gaps in knowledge and understanding, tailoring learning opportunities to fill these holes. This can be with retrieval questions as sharp starts in the classroom as well as targeted work on Show My Homework. So, it is vital that our students accept that this is a challenge that they are going to overcome. They should aim to arm themselves with the learning skills as well as using teachers, parents and careers evaluation and help to overcome the Covid gap and achieve despite the pandemic.
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Blended learning
We are all used to children going to school, being in a classroom and being taught by teachers. But sadly, this is not the reality now. In the light of the pandemic, new types of teaching and learning have developed with the flexibility to allow lessons to be delivered in school or at home in a moment’s notice.
Blended learning is a mixture of online resources, online interactions between teachers and learners as well as classroom-based learning.
In the secondary phase, Show My Homework is the platform that has expanded to fill the gap to offer blended learning. All students and their careers have a personal login which allow teachers and students to Classwork is set for self-isolating students. remain in contact during periods of self-isolation. The red activities on the platform show the classwork tasks that have been uploaded for your child. You can expect a range of learning materials from web links, to videos, worksheets and even invitations to zoom calls. Work can be uploaded, and the teacher will assess and give comments and rewards to your child. In the primary phase Purple Mash is being used to share activities with students and allow written feedback to be given from the class teacher. It can be useful to get an overview what your child will be studying. On the school website you will find an outline of the topics that are set to be taught to each year group in each term. This is coupled with website addresses for additional learning to happen at home.
https://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk/page/?title=Secondary+Curriculum&pid=49
For extra learning at home, why not try: Oak National Academy (https://classroom.thenational.academy) is a free resource that contains high-quality video lessons and resources are available following the national curriculum from early years to GCSE for all subjects. Each lesson is an hour-long, delivered by subject specialist teachers, with pre-recorded videos as well as quizzes, worksheets and creative activities. It’s all easy to use, there’s no login or password, you can access our lessons on any device, and pupils only need materials they can find at home.
BBC revision bitesize (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize) is a free online study support resource designed to help with learning, revision and homework. It provides support for learners aged 5 to 16+ across a wide range of school subjects, including daily lessons. It also supports children and young people’s wellbeing and career choices.
Teaching and Learning Group http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
YEAR 7
Year 7 settling in
Our Year 7’s have their first half term under their belt at ‘big school’. Students have handed in excellent Independent Learning Units, with kudos points, postcards home and even head teacher’s awards for the very best of the fabulous work.
Miss Benbow, Assistant HoSP of Year 7 said: “It is wonderful to welcome our Year 7s and to see them grow in just the first 8 weeks that they have been here. They have learnt new routine really well and can easily navigate the school – they are a credit to themselves.”
Some of the Year 7’s have been handpicked to be part of Aylesford’s first virtual open evening which has been launched on our website for ‘Open October’. These students did a brilliant job of advocating for the school and it was clear to see that they were enjoying the next part of their learning journey.
Year 7 Clubs
It is really important that our Year 7 make new friends, not only in their form but with the wider year group. Clubs are a great way to do this. Mrs Miller runs Year 7 Creative Colouring Club daily at 1.30pm in F17. The picture to the right is Katie in 7HLY fabulous artwork. Mr Croft is running a Chess Club in S3 at 1.30pm on Wednesdays.
YEAR 8
The Year 8 Twitter Hub was launched in June 2020 as a transitional tool to provide extra support for the Year 7 into Year 8 September 2020 cohort. Since then, it has blossomed into a helpful hub for supplementary pastoral care at Aylesford that can be utilised around the clock and signposting to activities and services that can be accessed in the local community by students and parents alike.
Engagement from Year 8 students has been excellent and many have contributed with some fabulous designs in recent Art competitions. Well done to Annie Thompson on her creative design of ‘Keely the Cat’ which has become the new Year 8 mascot and the face of the Twitter Hub. Congratulations are also due to Warwick Thompson and Sabrina Bailey for their quality entries as Runners- Up.
We look forward to further engagement with this Hub as we seek to embed it throughout Year 8 and would encourage all parents to engage whenever possible and students as and when they turn 13 and are able to access Twitter.
Mr Owen - Head of Year 8
YEAR 10
Lockdown… We’ve not missed out!
Congratulations to the following Year Ten students who have successfully had their work published by Young Writers in the ‘Missing’ SOS Sagas.
Sian Chapman 10SGM Leila Scott 10SAH Abigail Glassborow 10 PRC Amy Speller 10YRD William Jarvis 10PRC
Well done! What a fantastic achievement!
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
SIXTH FORM
Sixth Form Photography Initiative Two budding wildlife photographers, Kirsty and Kirstie in Year 13, visited the falconers at Warwick Castle this week in order to photograph the birds. Bird handler Paul said “I see many photographers come through, but some of your pictures really are superb for someone who is new to the profession. I’m genuinely very impressed at how you have captured the birds. It makes me happy to see the birds pictured so well - thank you.” The girls caught shots of the birds in flight, as well as some majestic stills like the one picture right, which is Marvin, the Steller’s Sea Eagle.
Well done, girls.
On Friday 4th December, I delivered a number of the school’s Christmas Hampers to Leycester Care Home, Park View Care Home and Warwick Rehab Hospital by Year 12 Zoe Stevens (pictured right), Kissing It Better Ambassador, with the help of Caty Oates from the charity.
Kissing It Better helps connect younger and older generations and tries to stop elderly people from feeling isolated. All the staff were very grateful and are going to share the treats around. The NHS Staff from the Feldon Ward at Leamington Rehab Hospital said “This has brightened up their day”.
LEADERSHIP TEAM 2020- 2021 During the summer term, Year 12 students were invited to apply for the Head Boy, Head Girl and deputy positions of senior student management. The posts involve leadership of the school student body and close working partnerships with staff. The successful candidates play active roles and represent the school at internal and external functions. The Head Boy and Head Girl will also advise the School Learning Council on appropriate issues. There was a lot of interest and all the candidates were strong. We had to make difficult choices between many high calibre candidates. After much consideration we are pleased to announce that the From left to right: Deputy Head Girl and Student Wellbeing: following students have been selected to represent Grace, Head Boy: Luke, Head Girl: Lauren and Deputy Head Girl the school during the 2020-2021 academic year: and Charity Ambassador: Zoe Head Girl: Lauren, Head Boy Luke, Deputies: Zoe and Grace. Congratulations to them and we wish them well in their roles.
Sixth Form Open Evening Monday 23rd – Thursday 26th November saw Aylesford’s first Sixth Form Virtual Open Week. As it was not possible this year to invite parents/carers and students into school to meet the teachers, would be applicants were able to watch a video introduction to the Sixth Form as well information about life in the Sixth Form, the subjects available, the entry criteria and the application process. Also, during the week, subject teachers hosted zoom sessions, during which they outlined what is involved in studying their subject in the Sixth Form. Furthermore, it allowed plenty of time for any questions that applicants, parents or carers may have had. We hope that you find these useful and interesting. If you have any further questions or requests, please contact the school office and a member of the Sixth Form team will respond.
Higher Education Options Year 13 students have been busy this term looking at the numerous Higher Education options available. Some have been applying to Universities and have already been receiving offers. The Higher Apprenticeships are also being made available to A Level students in areas such as Accountancy, Business and the public sector to name a few. Apprenticeships are also pathways to obtaining a degree. http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
SIXTH FORM
Year 13 Mock Exams The Year 13 mock exams will take place during January 2021. The benefit of sitting mock exams is that it identifies gaps in knowledge, good practice in writing papers by hand for three hours at a stretch, the ability to find out how much you can write in the time allocated, start to acquire the knack of doing the type of paper you'll have to face for real and by build self- confidence at tackling exam papers. While we wish you a very happy, restful Christmas please be mindful that there will be plenty of time over the festive period to revise and spend quality time with loved ones. It is also an opportunity to put those all-important time management skills into practise! KIB- Kissing it Better KiB is working to end the isolation of old age by bringing the generations together. Their imaginative healthcare projects make an immediate and lasting difference to the lives of older people. There aims are: To connect young people and older people through our intergenerational healthcare projects. To offer everyone the KiB experience through our training and teaching programmes. To enhance healthcare through our simple, imaginative ideas. To improve young people’s confidence, communication skills and self esteem. To end the isolation and indignities of old age by helping the generations understand each other. Zoe, a year 12 student is launching this worthwhile volunteering opportunity at Aylesford to all students and their parents. She has been actively involved since May 2020. This has helped lonely, isolated older people cope better with the restrictions that the COVID posed. Zoe, is encouraging anyone interested in this opportunity to come on board to end the feeling of isolation that many of our older people experience. This term the sixth form team have been busy making homemade Christmas decorations, cards and gifts to deliver to hospital patients and care home residents to bring some festive cheer during Christmas.
Christmas Week Cheer! During the last week of term, the Sixth Form team have been organising a Christmas Charity Week from 14th to 18th December 2020 to raise money for ‘Kissing It Better’. In order to raise money for an important charity, as well as give everyone a much needed boost, the Leadership Team have worked really hard to promote and engage all staff. Mrs Keell and Zoe Dale, Deputy Head Girl delivered a virtual assembly to all years at the beginning of the month and I am sure by the time this goes to print, many students will have made a much valued contribution to charity.
SIXTH FORM SUPPORT
We are increasingly aware that many of you are feeling the stresses of life at the moment and the in- creasing pressures many of you are facing can become intense. Who to talk to: Your tutor, Mrs Keell, Mrs Till, Mr Shaw, Your peers.
Useful links www.cwrise.com
www.youngminds.org.uk www.mhm.org.uk www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mental-health-helplines/ www.cwmind.org.uk Useful Numbers Coventry Rise: 02476 641799 (8am and 8pm) or 0300 200 0011 (overnight) Mental Health Matters - For confidential emotional support and guidance. 0800 616171 ( 24 Hours) Coventry & Warwickshire MIND 024 7655 2847
From all of the Sixth Form Team- Have a very happy Christmas!! http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
PRIMARY PHASE
Unicorn Class
The children in Unicorn Class have made a fantastic start to their time a Aylesford – we are so proud of them. We are thoroughly enjoying our new topic, ‘Super Me, Super You!’ and have been thinking about ourselves and others and comparing similarities and differences. On the 24th September, we came to school dressed in brightly coloured clothes to celebrate the fact that we are all ‘Learning Superhero’s’! We loved honing our superpowers during the day by trying out different challenging activities and wore our superhero capes! Discussion took place about what our own superpowers were and the children came up with ideas such as, ‘sharing’, ‘kindness’, and ‘love’. The children have got off to a fabulous start reading at home and at school! To develop this further we are all looking forward to coming to school in our pyjamas on 22nd October to share in a very special ‘Bedtime Story’ event. There will be milk, hot chocolate and biscuits to celebrate!
Phoenix Class Phoenix class are thoroughly enjoying our topic ‘Towers, Tunnels & Turrets’. They have learnt lots about the different features of a castle and what they do. Knights are brave, fearless and bold. The children of Phoenix Class were up for the challenge of becoming a knight. To be a knight they needed a shield, so we have been designing our own! We have trundled across the drawbridge, over the moat and up to the top off the tower where we have met Rapunzel. Phoenix Class have enthusiastically been retelling the story of Rapunzel. They have acted the story out and taken part in a hot seating activity where they stepped into the shoes of the characters.
Pegasus Class
Ahoy Mateys! We are the Pegasus Class Pirates and have been arrrrrrrty with our learning; creating pirate portraits that look just like us! We have learnt about famous pirates, with Black Beard being our favourite, and created ‘Wanted!’ posters to find those missing pirates! Our map work is marvellous and we have learnt about different symbols to show where things are. In Literacy, we have explored the book, ‘The tunnel’ by Anthony Brown and can’t wait to write about our adventures going through the tunnel.
Osprey Class
We’re really enjoying our topic of ‘Stones and Bones’ in Osprey Class! We began our learning by looking at cave art and carefully observing the style in which they were created in, before making some of our own. We also learnt how historians find out about the past by using sources of evidence. We are fantastic at this now and have found out so much about Mesolithic life by looking at spears, combs and shelters. We have thought about life in the Stone Age and have written some superb instructions about how to wash a woolly mammoth; if anyone needs help, come and ask Osprey Class!
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
PRIMARY PHASE
Giant Class
This half term, Giant Class’s topic has been ‘Scrumdidilyumptious’. We have explored the Ancient Maya Civilisation such as their cities, diet and culture, as well as comparing it to the present day. Giant Class have investigated the enquiry question ‘Could Marcus Rashford play Pok A Tuk?’ where they were comparing the similarities and differences of the Maya ball game to football we know today and justifying their thoughts with evidence they have gathered. We have found out that there are descendants of the Maya Civilisation still alive today which use and cook with the same techniques as they did when the Ancient Civilisation was around. Eagle Class
In Eagle Class, we have had a fantastic start to the new academic year. Our oldest primary pupils set an excellent example and have approached learning with enthusiasm. It is hard to pick out just a few highlights from this half term! In Literacy, we have been studying ‘Secrets of a Sun King’ by Emma Carroll, which links to our topic on the Ancient Egyptians. We have used this text to inspire our writing and, most recently, we have written some imaginative and engaging newspaper reports. In art, we developed our painting techniques through using watercolours. Following this, we made silhouettes of an Egyptian landscape. The finished artwork is stunning! As historians, we have studied key events in the Ancient Egyptian period. Mrs Jordan, Head of Geography at Aylesford, has been teaching us once a week and we have furthered our map skills by learning how identify places on a world map using longitude and latitude. We have been learning about Place Value, and Addition and Subtraction in Maths. We have had plenty of challenge and have had regular opportunity to apply our learning to problem solving and reasoning.
Our science topic is Living Things and their Habitats. Our practical work has included flower dissection of Alstroemeria and Gladioli, and artificial propagation of an African Violet – we are tending to our cuttings and await the growth of new plants! Soon we will investigate seed dispersal, using the sycamore seed as an inspiration.
LIBRARY
As with every other part of the school, this term has been very different to normal in the library. With the library only being available to 6th form students the task was to allow all year groups to have access to books and other library resources. We achieve this by boxes of appropriate books being delivered to all Year 7 Accelerated Reading lessons for the students to loan and return. Year 8 and 9 also have the opportunity to loan books from the library as boxes of books are also delivered to tutor groups on a rota Years 10 and 11 being catered for by book requests forwarded by the tutor. Despite these unprecedented times the work of the library continues in other ways with both Primary and Secondary libraries obtaining many new books since the start of term which needed to be registered on to the Web based library ICT system. Web based means it’s available all over the school which gave the opportunity to two expert pupil librarians, Abbey Paterson and Isabel Stevens (9BNS), to offer invaluable help to achieve this by giving up several lunchtimes to help Mr Warnes register all of the new books, all achieved whilst complying with the school year group bubble system.
Mr Warnes Librarian http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
CONDOLENCES
In October this year, we received the very sad news of the death of one of our former students, Samantha Poulton. She was diagnosed with Synovial Sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, in September 2019.
Sam attended Aylesford from 1999- 2004, and is remembered fondly by staff that taught her- Mr Scholes was her Head of Year and Mrs Grinham was her tutor- as well as by students like myself who attended school with her. Some of us also experienced her talents as a Lead Stylist at Hair Management.
Her closest friends put together these words to help us honour her memory as a school: ‘Sam was sociable, popular and liked by everyone in school. Sam was good at Maths and really enjoyed Textiles and Art. She was known for not liking PE as much and would sometimes ‘forget’ her kit- unless her favourite teacher was teaching that day! She was a kind, loyal and caring friend to many. She was known for her one liners and honest opinions, and was always being the mother hen of the group. She had a great sense of humour and was very witty. Sam left school in 2004 to work at Hair Management in Warwick and became a successful hair stylist/colourist for 16years.’
We send our deepest sympathy and heart-felt condolences to Sam's family and friends.
To find out more about Sam and her brave fight, her Just Giving page is still open to read:
Crowdfunding to HELP SAMANTHA POULTON FIGHT SYNOVIAL SARCOMA on JustGiving
Mrs Furlong
FACE MASKS
Facemasks
Thank you kindly to a parent who has children in Year 9 and Year 11 for their generous donation of wonderfully handmade facemasks. We would be very happy to accept any donations that a parent/carer can offer during these uncertain times. The cost of the facemasks being purchased in school to fill the gap of those students that either forget, lose or damage their face coverings during the school day is ever increasing, and this is something schools will not be able to sustain on an ongoing basis so any help offered would be greatly received. Please contact Mrs S Hughes if you are able to help by emailing: [email protected]
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
SAFEGUARDING
Safeguarding
During these uncertain, difficult times, if you or someone you know needs support with any circumstances affecting you, there are people and places to turn to. Below are the links to some that can offer support:
[email protected] - Family Information Service - for advice on all things parenting.
Childline.org.uk or call 0800 1111 - for telephone support for children.
Mind.org.uk for Mental Health Support - for mental health support.
If you are concerned about a child call MASH - Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub 01926 414144
We would really like to support any student and their families if they are classed as Children Previously Looked After, identified students bring extra resources and support into school, if you have not already informed us that this is the case, please do not hesitate to let us know.
If you have any minor concerns or queries, feel free to email me at [email protected]
Mrs Donna Savage, Safeguarding Officer
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
NOTICES
Communication with The Senior Leadership Team, Head of Student Progress or any other member of staff. We are unable to invite parents/carers onto school site currently. If you need to speak with a Senior Leader, Head of Student Progress or a Teacher please be aware that they are still bound by timetable commitments. If you need to speak with a member of staff please call Reception on 01926 747100 so that we can arrange a mutually convenient time for a telephone appointment for you.
To email any correspondence to HoSP’s or teachers, please email [email protected] or [email protected] with the teachers name in the subject line and this will be forwarded to the relevant person. Zoom Consent The office team have emailed all parents/carers individually who have not signed to either state that they authorise their child to take part in Zoom lessons or do not authorise their child to take part in Zoom lessons should your child's year bubble be closed or should the school be instructed to close . Please do note that a teacher cannot allow your child to partake in any Zoom lesson if this is not completed, fully and accurately. Please assist us with completing this if you haven’t already done so and have received a reminder email.
If you have not received an email notification please do contact us to update your email address.
Updated Photo and video consent Please note that we have updated our photo and video consent form. The office team will have emailed you a link, that would need to be completed on-line, if you need a further copy of this email or the form in a hardcopy please contact [email protected] or [email protected] and we can forward this to you again.
Alternatively please follow this link: - https://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk/attachments/download.asp? file=3795&type=pdf
Facemasks Thank you kindly to a parent who has children in Year 9 and Year 11 for their generous donation of wonderfully handmade facemasks. We would be very happy to accept any donations that a parent/carer can offer during these uncertain times. The cost of the facemasks being purchased in school to fill the gap of those students that either forget, lose or damage their face coverings during the school day is ever increasing, and this is something schools will not be able to sustain on an ongoing basis so any help offered would be greatly received. Please contact Mrs S Hughes if you are able to help by emailing [email protected]
Dropping off forgotten items Please may we ask that you support your child to ensure that they have all the necessary equipment and belongings with them for their school day. We are unable to take in at our reception items for your child during the school day due to the current pandemic, and are unable to deliver a note to them to ask that they come and collect any items from us at Student Services.
Communication during the school day As we are a large school and unable to use the services of office runners due to the pandemic and the necessity to avoid cross contamination of year bubbles, we are unable to get messages to your child during the school day. Please ensure that any communication is done before the school day or you have a source of contact following their school day.
We would always email your child’s teacher and tutor with any message, however, we cannot guarantee that this will be passed on during the school day.
Students Appointments Protocol Currently we are unable to assist parents/carers with honouring appointments during the school day. This is to ensure that the year bubbles are protected.
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
NOTICES
If your child is unwell at school During these unprecedented times, we would ask that any child displaying any of the following symptoms does not attend school.
1. High temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature) 2. New, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual). 3. Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal.
All students know that if they are unwell during the school day, they should make their way to Student Services where a first aider will assess their condition and where appropriate contact the parent/carer to ask for them to be collected.
If your child is highlighted during the school day to present with one or more of the above symptoms you will be contacted immediately for you to promptly collect your child from school.
Change to contact details Please ensure that you communicate any changes to your contact details directly to the office, we need this in a handwritten or email form. Please email [email protected] and we will confirm to you when the re- quest of change of details has been completed.
Medication in School Medication should only be taken in school when absolutely essential. You will be required to show the school evi- dence of the prescription and will be required to complete the necessary school paperwork to enable student ser- vices to administer any medication, or indeed to keep any medication in school. We are unable to administer medication as per our school policy without the evidence of a prescription.
Please come into the school in order to complete the necessary paperwork or alternatively contact the General Office, to arrange for the necessary paperwork to be sent to you on the details above.
All medication is to be stored in Student Services in the original container, labelled with your child’s name, dosage and frequency prescribed and expiry date clearly visible with the correct and necessary paperwork completed prior to being accepted at Student Services and being administered to your child. It is the parent’s responsibility for the safe delivery of medication and to replace medicine that has expired. Out of date medication will be safely disposed of.
Students are not permitted to have any medication on their persons in school due to possible misuse by them- selves or dangers to other students. Students with asthma/diabetes/severe allergies, however, are responsible for carrying their own medication e.g. inhalers/Epipens.
Mrs S Hughes, Office Manager
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
NOTICES
LEAVE OF ABSENCE DURING TERM TIME UPDATED INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
The Supreme Court recently reached a decision in the case of Platt v Isle of Wight Council which has clarified the law on unauthorised leave, including holidays, during term time. The parents of children of compulsory school age are required to ensure that they attend school on a regular basis. The Supreme Court has made it clear that attending school ‘regularly’ means that the children must attend school on every day that they are required to do so. As such, the parents of any child who is absent from school without authorisation for any length of time are likely to be considered as committing an offence under s444 of the Education Act 1996.
Head Teachers retain the ability to authorise leave in accordance with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006. When considering such requests for a leave of absence, the school are obliged to act within the law. Head Teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances relating to the application. If the leave is granted, head teachers are able to determine the number of school days a child can be absent for.
It is for the Head Teacher to decide what is ‘exceptional’ and it is at their discretion if the circumstances warrant the leave to be granted. The school can only consider Leave of Absence requests which are made by the ‘resident’ parent.
Each application for a leave of absence will be considered on a case by case basis and on its own merits.
Where applications for leave of absence are made in advance and refused, the child will be required to be in school on the dates set out in the application. If the child is absent during that period, it will be recorded as an unauthorised absence, which may result in legal action being taken against the parent(s), by way of a Fixed Penalty Notice.
Failure to make an application for leave in advance can also result in a Fixed Penalty Notice being issued to the parent(s). All matters of unauthorised absence relating to a Leave of Absence will be referred to the Warwickshire Attendance Service, part of Warwickshire County Council
It is important to note, Fixed Penalty Notices are issued to each parent of each absent child, (for example 2 children and 2 parents, means each parent will receive 2 invoices in the amount of £120 each, totalling £240 for both children, this is reduced to £60 per child if paid within 21 days).
Where a Fixed Penalty Notice is not paid within the required timeframe as set out on the notice, the matter will be referred to Warwickshire County Council’s Legal Services to consider instigating criminal proceedings under S444 Education Act 1996.
Fixed Penalty Notices are issued in accordance with Warwickshire County Council’s Code of Conduct for Penalty Notices. Your child’s progress academically as well as socially is our shared priority
How to report a student absence:
Phone 01926 747100 and leave a message /speak to a member of the office or email [email protected]
2. Each day your child is absent you need to repeat the step above
Please note that we may still request further information regarding your child’s absence.
Mr MacRae, Director of Studies
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
NOTICES
Hairstyle Reminders Parents are asked to ensure that their children do not come to school with unusual hairstyles (e.g. close cropped, particularly shaved hair is not acceptable) neither is hair of contrasting length or colour. Please note that a barber’s ’number 2’ (6mm) shaved cut is the shortest allowed.
Parents are requested to seek advice from school if in doubt, before allowing a particular fashion.
Mobile phone Policy Reminder We discourage you, as parents, to allow your child to bring phones and other electronic devices to school. This is because their use in both lesson time and recreational time is forbidden. Students may only bring in such items if the items are switched-off and remain completely out of sight. If a student abuses this arrangement, then the phone or the electronic device will be confiscated for the remainder of the school day and a behavioural point will be marked against their file. The student will be unable to have their confiscated item returned until after registration. If a student is caught repeatedly using a phone or electronic device then the item will be confiscated and returned only to the parent/carer who will be invited in to collect the item.
Deodorants and Antiperspirants Roll on deodorants and antiperspirant's are preferred to their aerosol equivalents in consideration to students that are asthmatic. Although stopping short of an outright ban on all aerosol forms of deodorants, antiperspirants and pump action sprays, any irresponsible use in enclosed areas by students will be considered a disciplinary matter.
Support with the dangers of Social Media Warwickshire Police have started a campaign #BeCyberSmart – if you would like more information please follow this link: https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/becybersmart2
Coronavirus The Government and NIHS are well prepared to deal with this virus. You can help too.
Germs can live on some surfaces for hours. To protect yourself and others:
Always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze.
Bin the tissue, and to kill germs, wash your hands with soap and water, or use a sanitiser gel.
If you have arrived back from China within 14 days follow the specific advice for returning travellers.
This is the best way to slow the spread of almost any germs, including Coronavirus.
Should you wish to find out more please visit gov.uk/coronavirus
Mr Hodgson Headteacher
Uniform update
From June 2019, our uniform provider Stitchtech will be selling the updated uniform range. The new pleated skirt has been added to the range which still includes the classic ‘A line’ skirt. Both skirts will be sold with the Aylesford Logo on the waistband. Be aware that having the logo on the waistband is compulsory for Year 7 students starting September 2019 and for all other students from September 2020. A ‘slimmer fit’ pair of boys trousers has also been added to the range. PE items now include a quarter zip mid layer top for upper school boys and girls and slimmer fitting tracksuit bottoms for all years sporting the Aylesford Logo. Tracksuit bottoms form part of the compulsory range. Unbranded navy ‘base layers’ are also now permitted but are not compulsory or currently supplied by our provider. Base layers must be worn with shorts, a tracksuit or a skort.
Mr MacRae
Director of Studies
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
NOTES
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk
http://www.aylesfordschool.org.uk