NEWSLETTER Issue 329: 29 November 2012 HEADLINES....HEADLINES....HEADLINES....HEADLINES....HEADLINES
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Notley High School & Braintree Sixth Form NEWSLETTER Issue 329: 29 November 2012 www.notleyhigh.com HEADLINES....HEADLINES....HEADLINES....HEADLINES....HEADLINES...... PTB Day 21 November 2012 In Brief... Parent Governor Vacancies We have vacancies for 2 Parent Governors. Please see nomination form on page 14. Nominations close on 7 January 2013. Diary Here are a few diary items to note, for a full list of diary events please visit the online school calendar at http://notleyhigh.com/school- calendar w/c 3 Dec - Y11 PE Mock Practical Exams On Wednesday 21 November students at Notley High School & Braintree Sixth Form 5 Dec - HPV (Y8 Girls) 2nd took part in the first planned timetable breaking day (PTB) of this academic year. The Vaccination focus this year was on teaching and learning and enabling the students to develop a variety of life skills including team building and decision making. w/c 10 Dec - AS and A2 Mock Exams The Year 7 day was all about “embracing and enjoying the challenge”; they had to compete in the “Crystal Competition”. This involved working their way through 10 Dec - Jack Petchey Regional 3 zones and various challenges to try and win as many crystals a possible to Schools’ Presentation Evening be crowned the ultimate winner. However the day was not just about winning 12 Dec - Christmas Concert challenges; students were also judged on their ability to work together as a team, communicate with one another, get stuck into the day and reflect on their choices and 21 Dec - End of Term – School change things around. Finally, students were asked to fill in a booklet throughout the closes at 1.30pm day assessing their and their groups performance; this booklet allowed them to set targets to work towards during the year, allowing themselves to improve on some key skills. Student Absence/Late Lines From the amazing staff who made this day possible there were only great reports Year 7 01376 556347 on behaviour, involvement and engagement; very well done Year 7, you should be Year 8 01376 556348 proud. Year 9 01376 556349 Please read extracts on page 2 from some Year 7 students, about their view of the day: Year 10 01376 556350 In Year 8 the students embarked on a healthy lifestyle day. They took part in a variety Year 11 01376 556351 of activities. There was an assembly and workshop by an Olympic hopeful hurdler, The absence lines should be Julz Adeniran, who was truly inspirational and humble too. St Johns Ambulance called on a daily basis to report workshop on vital life-saving skills, ‘My Body’ workshop, ‘Me Photography’ (creating your child late or sick. collages with key words and images relating to their identity, culture and personality, ‘Number Cruncher’ workshop (students to work on health and nutrition statistics for a cyclist planning to cycle from John O’Groats to Lands End, ‘Healthy Eating’ workshop (students to plan the recipe for a healthy snack and then create it). There was also a football workshop run by a professional footballer turned coach. The students had a lovely day and there was a real sense of positivity in all that took part. In Year 9, students moved around and attended 9 different GCSE taster sessions. Students completed a GCSE option booklet as they moved around which had directed questions for them to complete so that they were able to find out the skills that each subject requires, exam/coursework weightings and topics covered within each subject. continued on page 2 “Working together, achieving together” They then met back with their tutor for the final session to complete an evaluation and feedback on the day. Booklets will HEADLINES....HEADLINES....HEADLINES....HEADLINES....HEADLINES.....HEADLINES. be collected and then re-visited during tutorials before being given to take home so that options can be discussed with their parents or carers before the Year 9 KS4 Courses Evening on 31 January. This was an excellent opportunity for the students to start thinking about their option choices and start to plan for what they will do at KS4. The day was a huge success for Year 9, with lots of the students that I spoke to saying how much clearer they were with their option choices. In Year 10, British Army Captain R Lawrence, of the Royal Engineers started the day explaining the objectives, which were to develop transferable skills including team work, leadership, communication skills, delegation, lateral thinking, time management and self-reflection. Students then moved through a range of tasks, requiring them to use and develop different skills. The day ended with Captain R Lawrence talking about his experiences in the army using the skills from the day. Students also had the opportunity to reflect on the day, their performance and the importance of the skills they had used. Many students developed in ways not obvious in normal curriculum subjects which was lovely to see. Year 11 students had a really worthwhile day with the focus being on what happens to them post 16. They started the day with opening envelopes that contained their exam results as predicted by their teachers. There was celebration for some and disappointment for others like on the actual results day! There was a market place in the Sports Hall with lots of outside speakers talking to the students about what is available for them once they are 16 years old. The students gained lots from this and it gave an excellent insight into what happens post 16. Some students also had the opportunity to participate in taster workshops at A level/IB in Braintree Sixth Form. It allowed students to have a better appreciation of the challenges that they will face when embarking on work at this level. Overall the day was a huge success with many students a lot clearer on what they will do in the future. Mr Calver and I had the challenge of overseeing the day and because of the work of all the staff involved in not only planning the day but also delivering sessions, this was a much more strategic way of working together with the end result being the best PTB day that the school has been involved with. A huge vote of thanks to all involved as it was a great success, well done! Mr Ferguson (Associate member of SLT) Mr Calver (AST) PTB Day - Views from Year 7 Extracts from some Year 7s “Our PTB day was a fantastic experience, we learnt how to work in a team, include everybody in our suggestions and we also learnt a number of creative challenges.” “We all had different responsibilities. Mine was the role of put it together – this was the person who got their hands dirty.” “The Mental Zone put our brain power to the test, we had to work quickly together to win crystals.” “This was a fun day.” “During each of the activities we were trying our hardest to earn as many crystals as possible.” PTB Day - Views from Year 10 What a day to remember! The day started with a speech from Captain Lawrence, who had recently returned from a tour of Afghanistan. He spoke about the work that he did out there and the difficulties that he faced. In particular, he spoke about the need for teamwork. We were inspired by the courage and loyalty that he showed to his country. Like Captain Lawrence and his team the day was based on teamwork and problem solving. From crawling through spiders webs of rope, building towers of straws to making our own franchise with our friends everyone found it really enjoyable. We feel like we have all achieved something from the PTB day. As the day drew to a close we can only describe it as useful, eye opening and fun! By Joshua Elms and Joshua Munday Page 2 Notley High School & Braintree Sixth Form Newsletter – Issue 329 - 29 November 2012 “Working together, achieving together” Year 9 Battlefields Trips 190 students and staff visited the Ypres area earlier this month on our annual trips. The very early start is always difficult, but all part of the adventure (for us, though not perhaps for the poor parents who have to do the 3.30am drop off at school and then try to get back to sleep and up for work the next day!) The trenches at Hill 62 are always a favourite part of the day, with the chance to be actually in a complex they have heard a lot about in their lessons. Full of mud and with muddy craters all around, 1 or 2 students soon had some idea of the unpleasant nature of trench life in the winter. Each group of students lays a wreath on behalf of the school at one of the Commonwealth war cemeteries. Whilst each act of remembrance may have been a little different some things are always the same; students write the message, a volunteer reads part of Binyon’s poem ‘For the Fallen’ another lays the wreath on the memorial and we hold a reflective silence. This is always taken very seriously by students especially at Tyne Cot cemetery where the sheer number of graves and names on the memorial really bring home the sacrifice made by so many. We try to imagine each cross as a young man standing to attention and suddenly the war does not seem to be nearly one hundred years ago. The Passchendale museum has a brilliant recreation of a sophisticated trench system complete with the sound of shells falling and water pumps in the background. After a visit to the German cemetery at Langemark we then go into the town of Ypres.