Christmas-Newsletter-2019.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Millom School Termly Newsletter Autumn 2019 A message from Mr Savidge A message from the Chair of Christmas and New Year is a time to look back and Governors reflect on what a wonderful term we have had at As this newsletter illustrates, our Millom School. There were two events in particular Millom School students have had a which gave us the chance to celebrate together. very busy term – not just on their The first of these was Presentations Evening which school work but on the wide variety marked the achievements of our students and was a of extra activities the staff of the great reminder of how fantastic our students are. school provide. We are a community Richard Leafe, our guest speaker, presented the school and are proud of its prizes and gave an inspirational speech about his community “feel”- never more so role as Chief Executive of the Lake District National that at the most recent Presentations Park Authority. The second event was the Evening and Christmas Concert at Christmas Concert which showcased the talent of Holy Trinity. As governors, we want our students in their musical and drama to thank the staff, parents and other performances. Thank you to all those of you who members of the local community for came and supported our young people at these the support the school receives but events. also to acknowledge the essential This newsletter is a celebration of some of the key contribution of the students to events that have taken place for our students which making the school a special place. would not have been possible without the support of You all deserve a very enjoyable the staff. I thank them for their tireless hard work. Christmas. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Mock Interviews Year 11 have experienced what it’s like to have a job interview, when 25 employers from 14 different local businesses came into school to support us with our careers event. The students certainly looked the part and had made huge efforts with their professional dress. Employers provided feedback that we had a well organised event and a very comprehensive process, which was helping and assisting with individual’s futures. Students were asked to complete a job application form as part of the process and employers gave feedback on the form including the personal statement, dress, body language, communication skills and the quality of answers to typical interview questions. Some of the questions were quite challenging and our students did really well with their responses. Many employers commented that students were very well prepared and engaged throughout. “Well prepared, polite, informed and genuinely interested” “An absolute delight to visit Millom School” “The students are a real credit to the school” “The students we met were really great” “Some really strong and impressive performances especially on presentation, eye contact and body language” “It’s great to see students looking so smart and enthusiastic” “You can tell there’s been a lot of effort put into the personal statements” Millom School would like to thank our employers for taking the time out of their busy schedules to support us with this event. We, and the pupils, valued the feedback highly and pupils are now in the process of evaluating their performance to prepare for real interviews with apprenticeship-providers, colleges and sixth forms. We are proud of our students and also want to say a massive well done to our Year 11s! Year 10 Discover Uni day at the University of Cumbria 29 Year 10s attended the University of Cumbria for the day on Tuesday 26 November to explore HE options further as part of the schools careers provision. On the day students were able to look in depth at what you can study at university, had a campus tour and even took part in a criminology masterclass. The day was really interesting and hopefully students feel inspired to go on to University, when they are able to. Careers Trip 31 students from Years 10/11 took part in the Beyond 16 Careers Convention at Workington. Pupils were able to engage with a wide range of employers, education and training providers from Copeland and Allerdale and ask questions about the progression pathways, talking to representatives from Sellafield, Gen 2, Morgan Sindall, University of Cumbria, UCLAN, Newton Rigg, Myerscough, Lakes College and Kaefer, to name but a few. Funding gratefully received from the Cumbria Collaborative Outreach Programme allowed us to make this trip free of charge to our students. Careers events like this are really important when students are making choices about their futures, which is why we recommend that students attend as many as possible and talk to a wide range of employers and training providers to investigate the huge range of career opportunities available in Cumbria and beyond! The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition is a national competition for young people to showcase their impressive science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) projects and to reward and recognise their achievements. The regional heat for this competition took place at The Big Bang North West 2019 and the judges were overwhelmed by the incredible & inspiring ideas that entrants brought to the fore. Pupils from Millom School won The North West Young Engineer of the Year Award and the Award for Communication with their project - Autism friendly Sensory Unit. We wish them luck in the National Finals at The Big Bang Fair in Birmingham in March 2020 . The Little Big Bang Millom School STEM Hub held their annual ‘Little Big Bang’ at Millom School in November. The event is for primary school pupils and is the culmination of a 10 week STEM project where pupils work in teams to research, design and make. This year’s project was to design a rocket powered car to be propelled down a runway course. Points are awarded at each stage of the event by a team of judges from a variety of engi- neering backgrounds. The pupils are supported in school by STEM Am- bassadors from Sellafield who volunteer their time. Everyone had a great day including the Ambassadors who saw their efforts come to fruition. All the schools produced fantastic projects displaying team- work, communication skills and development work. It is hoped by taking part in these projects the pupils will study STEM subjects and possibly take on a STEM career. Student Leadership Council This term the SLC have been working on two projects. We are really keen to raise the profile of recycling within school and we are currently looking at ways in which we as a school can do more. In the next term you will hopefully see recycling bins appear around school so that single use plastics and used paper can be put to good use. We are also in the process of planning a charity event to raise money for Diabetes UK. We have a number of students in school who have diabetes, so thought it would be a good idea to take the opportunity to not only raise money for the charity, but to also raise awareness of diabetes. More information about this event will be with tutors after the Christmas break. In October we welcomed our new members who had won the Year 7 election. Hannah, Harry, Tahlia, Alfie, Elijah and Ellis are doing a great job so far on the SLC and are keen to make a difference within the school community. More updates on what we are working on can be found on the SLC noticeboard in the link corridor near the Alex Hall. Fundraising Since December 2018 we have raised £2330.30 for good causes: * Music Concert and fundraising activities for Motor Neurone Disease Association £1739.30 * Non-uniform day for Comic Relief Red Nose Day £430 * Year 7 Black Combe Walk for Duddon & Furness Mountain Rescue Team £161 Thank you everyone! Remembrance Assemblies This year the emphasis of the assemblies focused on the 75th anniversary of the D-Day Landings, commemorating the veterans and their sacrifices. There were atmospheric musical solo performances from Lindsay and Thomas and the school brass band. Delta and Maria read an emotional account from a soldier who landed on the beaches on D-Day. The assemblies were very thought provoking and reflective. Eskdale Project 14 students worked with the Lake District National Park Authority to create a series of cleft oak steps in the Stanley Ghyll waterfall area of Eskdale. The steep path was becoming eroded and slippery when wet. The work of Millom School students has created a better access path for walkers descending from the waterfall. They worked alongside park rangers to clear the area, restore parts of the path, cut and then set steps into the path. Mrs Vance has been back to survey the area and reports that they've bedded in nicely! Millom School is leading the way in a new initiative being rolled out across the County. We were the first school to take part in the project ‘Poverty-proofing the school day’. The aim of the project is to identify barriers to opportunities for students, particularly focusing issues where finances can prevent full enjoyment of school. Students were trained to carry out the research to gain the most insightful feedback; asking nearly all students about a range of issues, to then report their findings. This is a long term project, with initial feedback starting discussions about things that could help make school more accessible for all. The student surveys provided insight to student feelings on day to day school life.