Millom School

Termly Newsletter December 2017

A message from Mr Savidge

As we come to the end of the autumn term we look back at what has been achieved by the students of Millom School. We started the term with fantastic GCSE results in which 4 out of 5 students achieved at least a grade 4 in English and 3 out of 4 students achieved a grade 4 in maths. 49% of students achieved at least a grade 5 in both English and maths which puts us well above the national average of 39%. Our 6th form students have moved onto a variety of apprenticeships and courses at University. Apprenticeships include Gen2, BAE, Cumbria County Council and Kimberley Clark. University courses include Applied Social Sciences at Sheffield University, Early Years Education at Chester, Creative Writing at University of Gloucestershire. This underlines what we stand for as a school, in setting high academic standards and giving students the best choices for their futures. During this term the students have organised a number of charity fundraising events, this has included Children in Need, Shoebox Appeal, A charity event for Rylan Cosgrove, MacMillan Coffee Morning and Christmas Jumper Day (on the last day of term). The students take the leadership in organising these events and work together on them extremely well. They are an important part of the local community and the wider community. The mock interviews and careers fair were held on the same day this term. This gave students the experience of going through a job interview followed by the opportunity to meet a wide variety of employers and training providers. We ended the term with two wonderful events, firstly the yearly Carol Service at Holy Trinity Church, in which students gave fantastic musical performances. Secondly we celebrated the success of our students at our Presentations Evening. There is much to celebrate in this newsletter and I would like to thank the staff for all they do for the students. Thank you also to the governors and parents for their continued support of the school. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

A message from the Chair of Governors I am delighted to contribute to my first newsletter as Chair of Governors, it’s difficult to cover all the highlights of the school’s activities this year. We have again had a very successful careers fair which was well supported by employers and higher education providers from near and far offering out senior student’s lots of exciting options for their future after Millom School. Our students continue to work hard and play hard as can been seen from our great exam results and also sporting achievements with girls Rugby being especially successful this year. The school constantly strives to improve facilities our students and the creation of the new IT suite is a great example of this, which is being used to ensure out students gain the IT skills necessary for the future. We also now have virtual reality equipment which student enjoy using whilst ensuring that they stay at the forefront of educational technology. As we approach the end of term, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year. Steve “Happy, confident and secure students will learn more and will achieve greater things”

Year 7—Settling in The Year 7 of 2017 have settled in to secondary school life with enthusiasm, happiness and maturity. They are a wonderful group of students and have demonstrated a really adult approach to all the changes that have come their way. The students have jelled as a year group and work cohesively in tutor groups. They are positive in their attitudes to lessons and have even taken the dreaded homework in their stride – this bodes well for their future and we are exceptionally proud of them! The tutors feel that the Year 7's have settled really well into the school community, with many of them getting involved within the many different aspects of school life. A number of students have already represented the school at sport and attend weekly training sessions; over 45 students were in the running for the Student Leadership Council, showing promise for the future. Friendships have been made, as well as positive relationships with staff. They have become a part of the Millom School family. We are looking forward to seeing what else they can bring to the rest of this year.

Year 5 and 6 Open Evening The 2017 Year 5 and 6 Open Evening was a huge success. Staff worked incredibly hard to make sure that departments in the school were reflective of our good practise, informative and that the prospective new students were warmly welcomed. Parent feedback on the questionnaire was overwhelmingly positive and demonstrated the positive feeling towards the school. Our Year 7 guides excelled themselves; they had only been at the school 3 weeks but we were overwhelmed by the number of volunteers and the mature and positive enthusiasm they displayed. They captured the excitement of the evening and the buzz of the Year 5 and 6 students. We had numerous student volunteers from all year groups, in all the classroom activities and they are, without a doubt, the biggest strength of our school. They reflect the pride we all feel. “Happy, confident and secure students will learn more and will achieve greater things” Year 11 Mock Interviews On Thursday 19 October, our Year 11 students took part in mock interviews in preparation for them leaving school, going on to college or going into employment with training. This provided the students with the experience of going through the application process for a job and the subsequent interview process. The Year 11 students came into school in professional dress; they had all made an exceptional effort and looked very smart! Lots of businesses, both local and global, took part in the event, interviewing our students and providing personalised feedback about quality and clarity of answers to the interview questions, dress, body language, confidence and eye contact. Businesses included: BAE, Gen 2, Sellafield, Cumbria Training Centre, Taylor Made Training, Job Centre Plus, Inspira, the Armed Forces, CITB, PPM, GSK, Saint & CO, the County Council and local FE colleges. The students all had a very positive experience and the feedback has helped them to identify their strengths and areas for improvement with regard to interview skills. As a result, the students will work in personal development lessons to identify an action plan to improve their skill set. Millom School had excellent feedback from employers; one representative commented that our students were the most polite and respectful she had encountered in such an event. Another employer said that our students were very well prepared and that she was "very impressed with positive attitudes and confidence". Many of our students had feedback that was so positive that employers said that they'd have employed them 'on the spot' given the chance to do so!

Cumbria Youth Orchestra 2017-2018 season On Sunday 12 November 2017 we went to Trinity School in Carlisle for our first rehearsal with the CYO. We applied in the summer holidays and 3 of us were successful this year -Tash McQuire, Tess Cullen and Lindsey Gibson (who has been accepted for the second year). We rehearsed some of the BBC Ten Pieces Repertoire which includes works which are being played all over the country this year by lots of different orchestras e.g. Elgar’s ‘Enigma Variations’ and Tchaikovsky’s ‘Nutcracker Suite’. Our next practice is in February and we are giving a concert in Carlisle at The Sands Centre on Monday 9 July 2017. We are proud to have been chosen and are playing with approximately 40 other musicians from across Cumbria. Witten by Tash and Tess “Happy, confident and secure students will learn more and will achieve greater things”

Careers Fair Millom School pupils and staff are applauding another successful Careers Fair. This year’s event was held in the School’s Alexandra Hall on Thursday 19 October and involved over 30 local, national and international employers, as well as a range of higher education and further education establishments. These included: Sellafield, University of Cumbria, UCLAN, Cumbria Training Centre, Furness College, Cumbria County Council, BAE, Inspira, Glaxo Smith Kline, Construction Skills, Edgehill University, Millom School Sixth Form, Kimberly Clark, the Army and Taylor Made Training. This year the event was aimed at a wider range of pupils and included all pupils in Years 8 to 13. For Year 11 pupils the event was combined with a morning of mock interviews, where students were matched to employers from the students’ areas of careers interest who gave individuals a 20 minute interview to mimic the real-life processes of applying for jobs and attending interviews. Year 11 came to school in professional dress and looked exceptionally smart! Many of the employers were so impressed that they said they’d offer the young person a job on the basis of the mock interview, definitely a cause for celebration! The atmosphere in the Hall was buzzing, with over 300 pupils attending the event throughout the afternoon. Parents and carers were invited to attend from 3pm onwards and found it to be a valuable experience as they were able to engage with the employers and HE representatives first hand and take away information to discuss at home. Emma from Year 11 said ‘The Careers Fair made me feel more prepared for my future’ and Ross from year 11 said ‘I found the careers fair to be very informative. I learnt a lot about potential choices for further education and opportunities for employment in the local area’. Mrs Vance, Assistant Head at Millom School said “This was a great experience for our students, especially giving Year 11 a chance to experience a fundamentally important part of the employment process. The careers fair was a fantastic opportunity for a range of year groups to speak to employers, colleges and universities. Millom School has an excellent track record in ensuring that pupils leaving us in Year 11 go on to sustained education or employment with training and events like these support us in offering high quality careers advice and guidance. The School would sincerely like to thank all representatives from HE, FE and employment who attended and engaged with our students.” “Happy, confident and secure students will learn more and will achieve greater things” Careers Fair continued…

Event at The Beggar’s Theatre in Millom On Saturday 21 October 2017 some of our young musicians took part in a musical evening at The Beggar’s Theatre to raise money for the Millom flood relief fund. Freya Lupton, Kai Nicholas, Tess Cullen and Preeya Abidi-Fallows all gave solo performances and were well supported by their families and friends. Over £300 was raised. Jakki from The Beggar’s Theatre would like to thank everyone who supported this event. “Happy, confident and secure students will learn more and will achieve greater things” Sports Fixtures The girls have been busy with Netball and Football Festivals where they played lots of games and had lots of fun, luckily the emphasis was on taking part and not winning! Since then, the girls have all been training hard and are looking forward to some ’proper’ fixtures in January!

Cross-Country Many of our students took part in the recent Barrow Schools District Cross-Country Championships. Teams were entered across all age groups for both boys and girls. Everyone did extremely well over a very muddy course with all finishing in a decent time. The best performances came from Emily Swarbrick (2nd), Jayden Seward (5th), Chloe Capstick (7th), Douglas Rice (7th), Aaron Giles (8th) and Alex Rhodes (11th). The next round, the Cumbria SAA Championships, will take place on Wednesday 17 January 2018 at Cartmel Race Course. Good Luck to those selected! “Students who pursue their interests and talents will be happier, will have a sense of purpose and will develop a love of learning for life”

The Little Big Bang Millom School STEM Hub held their annual ‘Little Big Bang’ event at the school on Wednesday 29 November 2017. The event is for primary school pupils in Year 5 and 6 and is the culmination of a ten week STEM project where pupils work in teams to research, design and make. This year’s project was to design a Mars lander using a water rocket to get an egg airborne and safely back to Earth without the egg breaking. Points are awarded at each stage of the event by a team of judges from a variety of engineering backgrounds. The pupils are supported in school by STEM Ambassadors from Sellafield who volunteer their time. Everyone had a great day including the Ambassadors who saw their efforts come to fruition. Haverigg won with Black Combe a close second and Waberthwaite third. Prizes were: £50 Amazon voucher for 1st place, £25 for 2nd place and £15 for 3rd place. Special prizes were a box of science kits and a book of the Bloodhound rocket car signed by the driver and design engineer. It is hoped by taking part in these projects that the pupils will study STEM subjects and possibly take on a STEM career. What is STEM you may ask? "STEM! - the bringing together of scientific subjects in an all-encompassing real world engineering project, which develops within the participants the skills required for the future of Britain's position in the world of science and industry; including investigative research, team working, report writing, communication and presentation skills preparing them for the world of “Students who pursue their interests and talents will be happier, will have a sense of purpose and will develop a love of learning for life”

BAE Roadshow and REACT Foundation The start of the academic year is always a busy time for visiting Science shows. First up, BAE partnered with The Royal Navy, brought their Roadshow in on the 28 September 2017. The interactive STEM based show brought the wonders of Computer Science to life. Year 7 and 8 students were enthralled when they were able to put their knowledge of computer coding into practice by ‘hacking into’ a real life drone. Hot on the heels of that, on the 4 October 2017, the REACT Foundation regaled the KS3 students with their fun, audience participation based workshops on ‘The Material World’. This was followed by the ‘It’s Got Guts’ show for visiting KS2 students from the local community. Both of which were well received by all that partook. The REACT Foundation continue to support our budding Scientists by providing bursaries that can by applied for by students in Years 11, 12 and 13.

Sports/Events outside of school We have a couple of students who are currently playing for different sports teams including football development centres. Jack Mossop in Year 8 currently plays for three development centres; Carlisle United, Workington Reds (Under 13’s) and Lancaster City, Jack is a goal keeper and has recently played against other development centres and academies such as Newcastle United Academy and Downtown United New York Academy. Well done Jack, we wish you the very best! Scott Simons in Year 9 is currently a goal keeper at Carlisle United Academy. Scott signed for them when he was nine years old, he trains 3 times a week and then has match days on a Sunday. Scott has also recently played for Copeland in a tournament which was for possible selection into the County team in the future. Over the last 18 months Scott has had trials with multiple football teams; Newcastle United, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United. Well done Scott, fingers crossed for the future! Jackson Evans in Year 7 plays for Barrow AFC Performance Centre and Furness Cavaliers along with many other sports. Keep up the good work Jackson! Declan Tyson in Year 7 also plays for Workington Reds. Trials were held back in July to select teams for U8’s – U13’s. Declan was selected for the U12’s team. “Students who pursue their interests and talents will be happier, will have a sense of purpose and will develop a love of learning for life”

North West Cyclocross Associated Race Mia in Year 11 represented Millom Bespoke Bike Club on Saturday 11 November 2017 at the North West Cyclocross Associated (NWCCA) meet in Ulverston. She did amazingly well considering it was an event she was unfamiliar with and was competing against some super ambitious girls who were obviously more used to high levels of racing. Mia placed really well; more importantly she took park and didn't come last! Well done Mia!

National Children’s Choir of Great Britain Congratulations to Kai Nicholas and Freya Lupton in Year 7 who are now part of the National Children’s Choir of Great Britain. Kai has loved signing and performing from a very early age. Kai joined his primary school choir, has had singing lessons and has performed in the MADs ’2015 Oliver’ production. Following Kai’s performance in ‘Oliver’ he was then nominated for a NODA Award for Best Youth Performer in an Adult Production. Kai has also won bursary’s for his singing at South Cumbria Youth Festival and has picked up several trophies for his signing. He also sings as much as he can locally, for example, at charity events. Freya has also loved signing and performing from a very early age. She too joined her primary school choir and has also entered the South Cumbrian Music Festival yearly which has been a huge success! Freya has performed several times in MADs as well as various mayors and fundraising events. Good Luck to you both! “Students who pursue their interests and talents will be happier, will have a sense of purpose and will develop a love of learning for life”

Bungalow Project The bungalow in the school grounds which has been left unused for many years is now been restored into a wonderful garden project. Staff and students at school have worked very hard to transform the bungalow and its garden for outdoor education. After a good summer harvest we have no plans to stop growing. George Burch a STEM Mentor for the school said; ‘I’m very please we’ve been able to set this all up. It’s been hard work and its been frustrating at times because you’ve got to work within the weather cycles too, but the fact is, this is now an excellent education project. For the first time we have had an excellent year, bigger and better than we thought it would be. We’ll be starting to plant soon for next year which is exciting! In the gardens first year the students have been able to produce all kinds of herbs, fruit and vegetables. There are more beds set up in the garden for trees to be planted and the greenhouse is now up and ready to produce an even bigger harvest next year. Some of the produce grown has been transported across the car park to the Millom Network Centre café, while other students are being encouraged to set up a young enterprise scheme in order to sell what they grow and put the profits back into the garden and the project. We are now looking for more funding to expand this outdoor education facility to keep it running and to provide the students with this resource for a very long time. Well done to all the staff and students involved! Thank You to a kind member of the public, Derek, who has kindly donated lots of garden materials such as pots, trays, seeds and other equipment to this project. “Students who pursue their interests and talents will be happier, will have a sense of purpose and will develop a love of learning for life”

Duke of Edinburgh Award The first practise walk took place on Saturday 2 December 2017. It was a gloriously sunny day with perfect conditions. Despite a few early mistakes with map reading skills, the group managed to correct their way and successfully completed the route around some local paths and trails, taking in lots of the local natural beauty and indeed some of the local history of the quarry. Even with the lovely weather, there were some very wet patches and extremely large puddles to negotiate but, our very own Thomas Clayton was on hand to rescue the damsels in distress from getting wet feet! There was plenty of chatting along the way, great of teamwork and obviously lots of snacks involved to keep the students spirits high. A little rain shower caught the team by surprise but everyone arrived back safely, in plenty of time to give their boots a good clean ready for the next adventure.

Fun Kitchen Sessions This term Mrs Brocklebank in the Technology Department has been running ‘Fun Kitchen’ sessions after school where the younger students have been involved in making a variety of products including soup, bread, cookies, flapjack, gingerbread figures, crunchie cake, butterfly cakes, sausage rolls, pizza, smoothies, puff pastry twists and garlic bread. The students involved have had great fun taking part in the after school sessions, learning lots of new skills, working individually and as a group, learning and becoming familiar with the different kitchen equipment that is needed in the preparation and making of different dishes as well as using transferable skills that they can take home and use to cook for their families. “Students who pursue their interests and talents will be happier, will have a sense of purpose and will develop a love of learning for life”

The school production of ‘Check Please’ On two separate nights, parents, teachers and the local community were welcomed to Millom School where they watched a performance of “Check Please!” written by Jonathan Rand. 12 students from Years 8-12 performed the hilarious show after months of hard work rehearsing. ‘Check Please’ is about a boy and girl who were both looking for that someone special but had a troubled time dating, they didn’t think it could get any worse… but it did. The students learned many lines and transitions. It was great to see students from different age groups working so well together, supporting each other and developing friendships. We are extremely proud of them! “It was a pleasure to be a part of” Megan Spragg Year 12 “It was fun to get to know other people during the rehearsal process” Maria Cheetham Year 9 “I loved the plot!” Alex Brearey Year 9 “It was an amazing experience” Sam Ford-Powell Year 10 Cast names: Sam Ford-Powell, Josie Lomas, Emily Martin, Maria Cheetham, Mary Wake, Beth Reece, Lucy Ashburner, Jenny Howitt, Alex Brearey, Ben Gerrans-Owen, Hayden Gill and Megan Spragg. “That to improve all of us need to work hard, play hard and push our boundaries”

Presentation Evening Pupils were celebrated for their achievements at the Presentation Evening held on Wednesday 13 December in the school’s Alexandra Hall. Millom School honoured outstanding young people with a host of prizes. There were awards and certificates for pupils achieving their A-Levels, AS-Levels, GCSE certificates and other achievements across the school. The comperes for the evening were Jack Cullen and Katherine Armstrong in Year 13. Headteacher Matthew Savidge gave a review of the last school year, reflecting on the STEM group, Activity Week, Trips, Results days, Prom, Careers events and the Music Festival. . The guest speaker was Sean Conway who is a Zimbabwean endurance adventurer, author and motivational speaker . There was music from a vocal trio, Katie Cullen, Jessica Fisher and Lindsey Gibson and Sam Ford-Powell who played is own composition, they all performed wonderfully. The award for Best GCSE Results was awarded to Ethan Bickerdike. Best A-Level Results was awarded to Kathryn Phillips who was also awarded The George Burch Trophy for Science. The Brown Award, for outstanding participation in school events, in particular her involvement in STEM was awarded to Catriona Merry. The Laydon Shield for Football was awarded to Liam Brockbank. The Forte Music Award for Outstanding Contribution to after school Music was awarded to Abi Tyson. The Mike Coldwell Memorial Award for Geography was awarded to Clare Steele. The TESCO Achievement Award for Achievement in Maths was awarded to Sam Huddleston. The Adam Slack Award for Achievement in Technology was awarded to Holly Knowles. The Killick Cup was awarded to Megan Spragg. The Shaw Shield for Rugby was awarded to Charlie Emslie. The 50’s Cup, which is awarded for their work in the community – either in school, local or the wider community, was awarded to Ben Dobson for assisting the community during the floods, for help with the garden project and school bungalow and assisting fellow students in lessons. The Dame Enid Bibby Award, for Outstanding Achievement was won by Skye Mitchell who attended the schools Sixth Form. The award was presented to her sister Millie who attends Millom School. The Millom and District Arts Society Drama Award for Excellence in Drama was awarded to Ellie Simons. The Troll Cup for Music awarded for Outstanding Contribution to Music in school was awarded to Peter Gaythorpe who was also awarded the ICT Trophy for excellence in ICT. Continued over the page… “That to improve all of us need to work hard, play hard and push our boundaries”

The Townsley Languages Award for linguist of the Year was awarded to Kieran Titmas. The Victor Ludorum Award was awarded to Kyle Jones. The Joseph Poland Award for History was awarded to Ross Bawden who was also awarded The Stewart Robinson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Personal Development. The Subject Trophy for English was award to Melissa Fletcher. The Victrix Ludorum Award was awarded to Bethany Pattinson. The William Stott Award for Art and Design was awarded to Georgina Stott. The Fred Whitton Award was awarded to Jenny Howitt. Many other students were awarded Top Subject Prizes, Top Subject Progress Awards and Governors Awards. Governors Awards were given who have taken part in different sports events: County Cup Football Winners, County Under 19 Table Tennis Champions, County Girls Rugby, County Athletics and Cross Country, County Cricket, Athletics, Cumbria Schools Athletics, Archery, Football achievements, County Rugby, County Hockey, NuGen and Go4Set Team. Well Done and Congratulations to all students. The evening was a real great and enjoyed by staff, students and parents. We thank you all for coming! “A strong community of students and adult learners is based on mutual respect, empathy and personal integrity”

Children in Need On 10 November our Sixth Form students organised lots of different activities in the school’s Alexandra Hall for the other students in the school. The students were also able to wear ‘non- uniform’ on the day for a small contribution of £1 per student. Throughout the week our Sixth Form students were selling cakes to staff and students at break times which was a nice treat. Both students and staff had a great time taking part in face painting and ‘sponge the teacher’ . Overall the school raised £993.31 which is a fantastic amount of money for a great charity that help different projects throughout the UK. Just to name a few projects working right across the UK that benefit from your donation and fundraising money are: Hearing Dogs for Deaf Children, Home Start which is a project that benefits children in playgroups, activities, trip and events, Whizz Kids a project that gives disabled children up and down the country a chance to be something special through different activities, The Greater Manchester Riding for the Disabled Association teaches children with disabilities along with many other worthy causes. Well Done to everyone involved. “A strong community of students and adult learners is based on mutual respect, empathy and personal integrity”

Millom School’s Remembrance Assemblies—Lest We Forget All students of Millom School gathered for the Remembrance Assembly to honour the memory, and the sacrifices, made by our service men and women. Students reflected on the theme of loss, and the impact of conflict on the lives, bodies and mental health of those who serve in our armed forces. The Millom School Brass Ensemble opened the assembly by playing hymns of remembrance, Mr Prior introduced proceedings and the focus of the assembly which was the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. We heard stories of three service people who lost their lives due to the conflict and the impact the war had on their mental health. Students’ gave beautiful renditions of poetry written by those who served in the Afghanistan conflict, and Megan one of our Year 11 students performed a touching rendition of ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon. Senior students performed the reading of the names of former students of Millom School who lost their lives in the First and Second World War. Year 12 student Joanne said “It was a memorable experience, the focus on modern warfare made it more relevant and engaging, as these tragedies are still going on today… soldiers today still need to be remembered”. Other students described the assembly as “passionate” and “emotional”. A special thank you goes to the Millom School Brass Ensemble – Tash, Tess, Rebekah, Daniel, Charlie and Thomas. The Student Readers – Molly, Lizzie, Lucy, Evie, Sophie and Sam. Senior Students – Jack and Katherine. Wreath Bearers – Jak, Enya, Nic, Edward, Charlotte, Ross, Libby. Special Guests – Reverend Clive Shaw and Governors Lindsey Martin and Wendy Hughes. And our Star Performer – Megan. “A strong community of students and adult learners is based on mutual respect, empathy and personal integrity”

Boxes of Hope Boxes of Hope are a humanitarian aid charity which gets local communities together with the common aim of helping deprived children in Eastern Europe. Since the early 1990s children and communities in Cumbria have been involved in the shoebox project, and since 2005 a team of local volunteers has been firmly established, coordinating the effort for South Cumbria, Furness and Eden, with support from some areas of North Lancashire who choose to join in. Each year the charity send thousands of brightly coloured, gift-filled shoeboxes to bring some magic to a child’s Christmas. The boxes contain basic hygiene and educational supplies, as well as toys and games. This year a total number of 52 boxes were filled for the charity, donated by both students and staff. Well Done to everyone involved especially our Sixth Form students who have dedicated a lot of time and effort to this appeal.

Charity Event —Written by Kyhanna Herdman We set up a charity event in school to raise money for the two charities we (group of friends) usually fundraise for, North West Air Ambulance and The Bluebell Foundation. As a group of friends we do this because during Year 5 at Primary School, our friend Rylan passed away after suffering an asthma attack. The North West Air Ambulance were there to help and The Bluebell Foundation is an organisation who were there to support the families and friends of Rylan. The event in school included; egging Mr Morton, playing on the PS4 and PSH VR along with cake stalls and other activities which students could take part in. We raised £600 and we are still selling wrist bands, the sales of these will then be added to what we have already raised. “That to be successful in life all of us need to develop leadership and teamwork skills”

Young Firefighters Scheme Our Year 11 students are given the chance to take part in the Young Firefighters Scheme, consisting of 6 male and 6 female students. The scheme takes place over a 10 week period, weekly at Millom Fire Station. This will be the 12th time the course has run for Millom School students. Millom Town Council, through the CGP trust fund have donated many thousands of pounds over the last 11 years along with other private donations that have made the scheme possible. Mike Dobson, Crew Manager of Millom Fire Station runs the scheme along with other members of the team. Areas that the team try and develop are; teamwork, confidence, communication, leadership, attitude and punctuality. The students were provided with fire uniforms and kit, over the course students took part in both practical and written assignments, helping them to develop lots of different skills. The scheme is very much about working together and being part of a supportive and structured team. Activities included, team building exercises, rule setting, hose and pump drills, working with breathing apparatus, community and home safety activities, first aid training to the British Heart Foundation standard, road awareness training, road traffic collision and team approach and extrication activities. We have had positive feedback from the team with regards to the students who have taken part this year. We would like to thank everyone involved with the scheme. The passing out parade allows the students to demonstrate their skills to family, local councillors and senior Fire and Rescue Service staff. For Information Mobile Phone Policy If you bring your mobile device to school you must take personal responsibility for it. The school will accept no responsibility for the safety of these devices. You must also accept the responsibility to respect the right of privacy of students and adults and that use of mobile devices is within the law. Mobile devices include smart phones, tablets, MP3/4 players, smart watches and any other digital devices. When and where you can and cannot use your mobile devices:

Before 8:45am (registration) Mobile devices can be used outside of buildings. This includes making phone calls, listening to music with headphones and text messaging. Inside, only text messaging is allowed. Lesson time From 8:45am until 11:00am (break), 11:15am until 12:15pm, 1:00pm until 3:00pm Mobile devices must be switched off and placed in bags, unless the teacher of the lesson has given permission to use them for learning purposes. Mobile phones should not be used during lesson change over. Lining up at lessons all devices must be switched off/silent and in bags. Break and Lunchtime Mobile devices cannot be used at break time and lunchtime. After 3:00pm Mobile devices can be used during these times. Unless, you are at an after school club, then normal lesson time rules apply. Rules for the whole day Mobile devices are ‘switched off at all times. Images, both moving and still, are not taken of any person. Your device is not used to bully any person, through any media. Consequences of failing to follow the rules above If you use your mobile device for any reason during a lesson, without permission then… Step 1: It will be taken off you and placed at Reception until the end of the day. A record of the device being placed at Reception will be logged. Step 2: If your device is taken off you again (second time in a week) you will need to bring a note in from home. Sanctions will be given in line with persistent disregard for school rules. Step 3: You will be banned from using any mobile device on the school site for as long as is deemed necessary.

If you use your mobile device for any type of bullying, then normal rules will apply for bullying. You will also be banned from using mobile devices.

Reminders

 If your child is unwell and not able to attend school, please contact Reception before 9:30am on the first day of their absence and continue to keep the school informed with updates should their absence continue. Please send a letter to school following your child’s absence confirming the reason for them not being able to attend school.

 In order for the school to authorise medical appointments please provide the school with a copy of the appointment letter or card prior to the appointment if possible. Please note that any optician or dental appointments should be made out of school hours.

 Holidays should not be taken during term time. All requests for time out of school with regards to holidays or exceptional circumstances should be put in writing addressed to Mr MD Savidge, Headteacher.

 Should you need to visit the school, as part of safeguarding and welfare we ask that you use the main entrance to gain access to Reception, signposted as you enter the school site.

 All students should be wearing the correct uniform. Reminders with regards to uniform can be found on the website under the ‘Community’ tab and then select the ‘Information—Non Statutory’ tab. Uniform reminders for parent/carer(s) and students can also be found on this page.

 Lunch money left for your child in Reception will have to be collected by your child. If your child reports to Reception because they have forgotten their lunch money they will be asked to see the Finance Office staff. Trip money must be given to the Finance Office by your child, only in an emergency will Reception staff accept this. Messages for students will also only be passed on in an emergency. Term Dates for 2017-2018 Autumn Term 2017 Inset Days—Monday 4 September and Tuesday 5 September Wednesday 6 September—Tuesday 19 December Half Term: Monday 23 October—Friday 27 October Spring Term 2018 Inset Day—Wednesday 3 January Thursday 4 January—Thursday 29 March Half Term: Monday 12 February—Friday 16 February Good Friday—30 March Easter Sunday—1 April Easter Monday—2 April Summer Term 2018 Monday 16 April—Friday 20 July Bank Holiday: Monday 7 May Half Term: Monday 28 May—Friday 1 June

Merry Christmas from all the staff and students at Millom School!

Millom School Salthouse Road Millom Cumbria LA18 5AB

Tel: 01229 772300 Fax: 01229 772883

Website: www.millom.cumbria.sch.uk

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @MillomSchool