| Newsletter

Christmas 2019

elcome to the Christmas edition of Wthe Newsletter!

It has been a long, busy term, and staff and students alike have earned this most welcome two week break. I do hope you will have a great Christmas and a peaceful, healthy New Year! I am sure the young people will be going out of their way to give their parents a bit of a break as well over the festive period. If they are not cooking the Christmas dinner, I hope they will at least be keeping their rooms tidy and helping out with the household chores….. I am sure those of you who attended our annual Christmas Concert on Wednesday, 18th December would want to join me in thanking Mr Painter and Mr Clarke for putting on such an entertaining evening of festive music. It was great to see and hear such a variety of items and so many different ensembles. As always, the Art Exhibition which preceded the school concert was very impressive. The talent of our young artists is quite breathtaking .

On Monday 2nd December we enjoyed the first screening of the films written, produced and directed by our Year 13 and 14 BTEC Media students at our Film Festival, held in the Lighthouse cinema. Special congratulations goes to Tristan Head who was awarded the top prize of Best Film. Our sports teams continue to compete well against other local schools and achieve some outstanding results, none more so than our Year 11 boys footballers who beat Budmouth College 5-0 to reach the quarter finals of the County Cup.

Parents’ Evenings start again after Christmas with Year 12 and Year 9 parents evenings taking place in January (16th and 23rd respectively). We look forward to meeting you to discuss your child’s progress and study habits. Please make a note of the dates in your Diary. It is so important that our young people see school and home working together in partnership. Year 9 parents are also invited to our Key Stage 4 Options Evening on Tuesday 7th January (6.00pm), where you will be informed of the different GCSE and vocational courses on offer next year. I would like to thank my teaching and support staff for all their hard work this term. We are sorry to be saying farewell to our Office Manager Mrs Linda Cox who is retiring after 24 years of loyal and exemplary service. A quick reminder that school starts again on Monday 6th January. In the meantime, have a restful break. I wish you all a very Happy Christmas!

Andrew Mead Head Master

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

1 Lytchett says farewell to Mrs Cox and Mr Richings

Mrs Linda Cox—Office Manager

After 24 years of fantastic service to the students of Lytchett Minster School, Linda Cox is retiring from her position as Office Manager. Mrs Cox has also been our main First Aider, coming to the aid of many thousands of poorly and injured students over the years. Many parents will have met Linda Cox when picking up their sick children. She is an exceptionally caring person, and has always been prepared to go the extra mile for our students. As office manager, Mrs Cox has also provided a highly professional and efficient service to parents and other visitors arriving at main reception or phoning the main switchboard. Mrs Cox will be greatly missed. We wish her a long, healthy and well deserved retirement. Linda Cox will be replaced as Office Manager in January by Mrs Caroline Clark. Linda Cox—Office Manager

Howard Richings—Governor

At the end of this term we also say goodbye to Howard Richings who has served on the Governing Body for 14 years. Howard was an engineer by profession, working at The RNLI. He brought valuable industrial experience to the governing body and was Chair of the Site and Services for many years, overseeing a time of great change to the school. We would like to thank Howard for his selfless service and wish him well for the future.

Governor Howard Richings with the Chair of Governors Jeanette York and Headmaster Mr Mead

Governor Vacancies

We currently have various vacancies on the governing body. If you would like to contribute to the life of the school in this way, please contact the Clerk to the Governors, Judith Hayward, at [email protected] by 15th January 2020.

2 Christmas Concert

Congratulations to all the students (and staff!) who took part in the Christmas Concert on Wednesday 18th December. It wasa fantastic evening with an amazing range of high quality musical items and an encouragingly large number of performers. The orchestras and choirs have both grown sizeably in recent years, which augurs well for the future of music in the school.

The concert included performances by the orchestra, the senior choir, the Ukeladies, the junior band, the junior choir, the jazz band, the clarinet ensemble, the staff choir, the Year 12 and 13 ensemble, the Festive quartet and the Laudamus Te ensemble, the combined quartet, the mixed choirs and steel pan band and the senior band. The evening was rounded off with students and audience joining together in a hearty rendition of the popular carol, Hark the Herald.

A special thank you to Head of Music, Andrew Painter and Simon Clarke for organising the concert and for preparing the students so well. All in all, a very memorable and enjoyable evening!

3 A level Art and Photography Exhibition

Congratulations to the Year 12 and 13 students for a wonderful art and photography exhibition. The quality of the work on display was quite exceptional. The exhibition provided a showcase of the extraordinary artistic and creative talent inthe school. The photos below offer just a glimpse of the overall exhibition. Well done to all the A level art and photography students, and a big thank you to the art and photography department for inspiring and guiding them over the years.

4 Fast Fashion Competition

This month, in the Geography department, we have been holding a Fast Fashion Competition across all key stages. This competition was linked with the University of Portsmouth. The term fast fashion was first used to describe the rapid movement of fashion trends from the catwalk to the High Street store, with clothes manufacturing becoming quick and cheap. This encourages the rapid consumption and disposal of clothes, with many garments only worn a few times before they are thrown away and replaced with the latest new trend. This is very unsustainable. Fast fashion creates social problems because many garments are made in developing countries usually by low paid workers. Fast fashion also creates environmental problems due to pollution in the production process, as well as resulting in tonnes of clothing ending up in landfill. Students were tasked with creating a solution that could address the social and/or environmental challenges posed by fast fashion. We would like to congratulate the following students who won a Fairtrade cotton bag and chocolate from the Lytchett Geography department. We will await news from the University of Portsmouth to hear of the overall winners.

Lucy Wilson PD7REE – who came up with the concept of Swapsy Day: a day when people swap their unwanted clothes Evie Pryor A8DRU – who devised a range of solutions, such as promoting FairTrade Poppy Rogers PD9CON – produced a new sweatshirt from two old tops Bethany Pryor A10VEN – produced an info T-shirt about fast fashion Molly Simmonds 6SHW – made an Instagram post using salient quotes to educate people of the issues of fast fashion

5 Year 11 Geography Trip to the Eden Project

On the 28th and 29th of November 2019, after a lengthy coach drive, we arrived at the Eden Project, Cornwall. Our first activity was to explore the wonders of the Mediterranean biome for around half an hour then it was straight to a talk from a spokesperson, Robbie. The talk included an insight on rainforests under threat in which we learnt about how they were under pressure, how we as a population could raise awareness and how we as individuals can combat this. Directly following this, we took a break and somewhat leisurely glided across the novelty ice rink in which almost everybody fell down at least once, thankfully with no injuries. As part of the package, a breakfast, lunch and dinner were provided all of which were delicious and dietary friendly. In the evening everyone congregated in the ‘common room’ for a series of competitive quizzes before retiring to their rooms for the night. On the 29th we kicked off the day with a land train which took us around the vast site and to our first destination; the Rainforest biome. After a brief exploration, we were shortly sent in again to complete a question booklet all of which the answers were to be found in amongst the scenery. Finally we diverted into the vast gift shop filled to the brim with eco-friendly souvenirs and products before departing back to Lytchett.

Many thanks to the Geography department for organising this wonderful trip.

6 Sixth Form News

Sixth Form Set their Sights on Life after Lytchett

It has been a busy few months for our Year 13 students, as they make their plans for moving on at the end of their time at Lytchett. Many students have been travelling the length and breadth of the country, visiting open days at the UK’s top universities.

As the final application deadline looms into view, more than 70 of our students have completed their UCAS applications. They are now receiving tempting offers from their chosen universities, for courses ranging from astrophysics to architecture, and everything in between! Hot on the heels of our three students who successfully gained places at Oxford and Cambridge this year, we’ll keep our fingers crossed for the five students who made their way to interviews this week.It’s a huge achievement just to get this far! Many of our Y13 students are also applying for degree level apprenticeships, and we are looking forward to seeing how they get on with their applications and interviews in the New Year. Waiting in the wings, our Y12 are busy getting involved in work experience, university visits and taster days, ready to put their plans into action this time next year.

Mrs Rendell, Assistant Head of Sixth Form - Destinations.

Sixth Form Awards afternoon

The guest speaker at this year’s Sixth Form Awards event was Mr Law, Head of PE, who gave a very inspiring speech about his career path from his school days through to the Marine Commandos, running his own business to training to become a school PE teacher. It was great to hear his positive message about pursuing your passion. We are delighted to have Mr Law as our Head of PE!

Year 12 students were given awards for their outstanding achievement in their GCSEs last year and Year 13 students were given awards for their effort and progress in their A level courses. There were also prizes for students with the best attendance and the best Progress Check reports.

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

7 Sporting Achievements

Early December and 14 young men travelled to St Michael’s Middle School for a game of rugby. They represented the school fantastically and we were victorious with a 9-8 win in a close, scrappy game! The tries came from Cameron Taylor, Ricky Morgan and Leo Oldham who used their size and power to break through the defence to score. We also had four debutants, three of whom have never played rugby before! The team: Dalton Newbery-Smith, Ashton Vivian, Garret Newbery-Smith, George Bloomfield, Owen Bartlett, Kallum Taylor, Cameron Taylor, Max Hannon, Ricky Morgan, John Habgood, Leo Oldham, Jake Whitfield, Thomas Hannaford and Harry Bloomfield.

Year 7/8 Netball

Two Year 7/8 Netball Teams travelled to for a friendly tournament and came away with an 7-1 win and a 3-3 draw. The teams: Ruby Bown, Josephine Dolman, Queen Douglas, Teagan-maria White, Mia Hathaway, Sienna Lawrence, Lily D’arcy Wykes, Melissa Mitchinson, Amie Dempster, Kaylin Loveless, Sophia Faletto, Daisy Miles, Jess Drury, Mia Case, Gemma Cluett and Edee Bohill.

8 Sporting Achievements (continued)

Year 11 Boys County Cup football match

Our Year 11 boys had a home game against Budmouth School in the County Cup. They played in horrible weather conditions, but came away victorious 5-0 winners! They are now through to the quarter finals. The team: Will Coat, Lewis Bainbridge, Christie Ward, Jonny Ward, Scott Coat, Sol Cofield, Ed French, Jay Green, Henry Birtwistle, Jake Terry, Jamie Luther, Taylor Webb, Rhys Harrison and Brad Jones.

Year 7 Girls football tournament

Congratulations to the following girls for representing the school in a local football tournament. The team: Jessica Selby, Abigail Moles, Emily Garrett, Jess Drury, Phoenix Brown, Lyvia Holland, Keira Mathison and Maia Johns.

Jake Fascione (Year 8)

Congratulations to budding tennis player Jake Fascione (Year 8) who was selected to be the flag bearer at the Global Junior Tour at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca representing the UK. Jake had the opportunity to compete against the world's best juniors. Jake managed to get through to the semi-finals of the Under 14s competition, which was a fantastic achievement. Well done, Jake!

Concert dates

Concert Dates 2019 – 2020 22nd January Pyramid Music afternoon 1.30 – 4.30pm All wind and string players 4th February Battle of the Bands 24th March Lower School Concert 7.00pm Junior groups and Orchestra 25th April Summer Concert 7.00pm Senior Groups and Orchestra 15th June Tour of Pyramid 8.50am – 3.25pm Senior Band and Jazz Band 24th June New Parents’ Evening 6.15 – 7.15pm Jazz Band 6th July Scholars’ Concert 7.00pm Scholars 15th July Prize Giving 12.20 – 3.35pm Jazz Band

9 Leadership Academy

Fourteen of our students were given the opportunity to take part in the Bryanston Leadership Academy and Young Ambassador conference. The Leadership Academy was designed to provide high quality support and development for young leaders and volunteers. At the Leadership Academy some of our year 7 & 8 students completed a Young Sports Leaders workshop where they developed skills to lead sports and inspire other young people back at their schools. Sports leaders from and Rockley Watersports delivered some of these sessions to our students and were actively involved throughout the day. Students selected for the School Games Events/Media Team were trained in event management, film and media reporting and were actively reporting on all events going on throughout the day. Our two Dance students who were nominated to be part of the School Games Dance Team worked tirelessly with a dance teacher from FuZe8 Dance Company to prepare a dance for the opening ceremony at the School Games County Finals. They were able to perform their routine at the end of the day to all Sports Coaches.

Four of our students were also accepted onto The Young Ambassador Conference, which was aimed at outstanding sports leaders who are considered to have the ability to become Young Ambassadors. Young Ambassadors take a leading role at the Dorset School Games County Finals and also form a vital link between the students and adults in their schools. Students were involved in workshops delivered by the RELAYS team, selected Young Ambassador mentors who have attended the Leadership Academy previously, SGOs and special guest tutors and athlete mentors.

We also had three of our students Charlotte Henry, Danielle Darce and Jack Bosworth accepted onto the Dorset Young Coaching Academy. The day was delivered by experts in the world of sports coaching and athlete mentors including Thinus Delport, John Pearce and James Hind all of which have represented their countries at the highest level. Students involved were: Teagan-maria White, Nathan Best, Ruby Bown, Tilly McEnnerney, Naomi Sherwood, Bethany Buyers, Beth Pryor, Lucie Etches, Ocean Tee, Danielle Dacre, Amy Hawkins, Jack Bosworth, Rachael Robinson and Caitlyn Walton.

10 BTEC Film Festival 2019

Poole Lighthouse cinema was once again the venue for this year’s BTEC Film Festival on Monday 2nd December. The quality of the films being screened was once again very high, with the award for Best Film going to Tristan Head. All the students in the Year 13 and 14 BTEC Media (Film and Television) group are to be congratulated on their tremendous achievement of producing such fascinating and enjoyable films. We look forward to seeing their names up in lights in the future!

Winner of Best Film in the Lytchett BTEC Film Festival 2019: Tristan Head

11 New School Governors

We are delighted to welcome a number of new governors:

Christopher Spence

Christopher works in Electronics Technical Sales. He has travelled extensively including the Middle East, mainland Europe, Japan and has also spent 5 years living and working in the USA.

Alex Wills

Alex comes from a creative and practical background having spent many years restoring classic, vintage and American cars. Having gained qualifications in Film and Television Production, Alex has worked in this industry both in the UK and abroad. Alex now works at Sunseeker International as a Quality System Manager. Alex and his wife have four children aged 13, 11, 8 and 6.

Luke Massey

Luke works as a doctor at Poole Hospital. He particularly enjoys working collaboratively with others and in the current environment is always being asked how things could be done differently whilst maintaining standards and improving efficiency. Luke is enthusiastic about encouraging young people to have excellent opportunities to develop their talents both academically and in extracurricular activities. In his spare time Luke sits on the local scout group executive committee and is an amateur musician who has helped out in the Lytchett Minster School orchestra. Tracy Thorns

Tracy is a Clinical Psychologist with a working background primarily in adult mental health. Tracy currently works as an independent expert witness for people involved in traumatic events or accidents. Tracy and her husband have 3 children aged 8, 11 and 13. In her spare time Tracy enjoys reading and running, and is a member of Lytchett Manor Striders running club.

Steven Risk

Steven has worked in the financial services sector for almost thirty years, having worked in the city for some twelve years and then becoming CEO of a local business more recently. Steven was a founding member of the newly established Football Club, and now having 200 local children playing football, he is the Club Secretary and coaches the Under 12’s Team, the vast majority of whom attend the school.

Jonathan Melleney

Jonathan is a qualified accountant and has worked for a variety of companies from plc right down to sole trader level. Jonathan’s daughter is due to join Lytchett in September and he is keen to bring his experience to the governing body.

12 Lytchett Fundraising

On Friday 13th December the Sixth Form had a Christmas jumper day and the rest of the school a Christmas hat day, raising money for the charity Mind UK.

Christmas Food Bank

Well done to all the students and staff who donated items for the Christmas Food Bank. Organiser and parent Mrs Jo Bruce wrote:

“I just wanted to say a huge thank you to you and to everyone at school who helped with the Christmas food bank collection. I was quite overwhelmed at the amount collected over such a short amount of time. The image clearly shows how thoughtful and generous people have been. The hampers are now ready and will be delivered over the next week in time for Christmas.’ - Jo Bruce, Wareham Foodbank.

Parent Forum

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

PTA News

The PTA has a new email address. If you wish to contact a member of the PTA please use the following address: [email protected] The PTA Secondhand Uniform Shop will be open from 3.30pm until 4pm on: Friday 10th January 2020 Friday 13th March 2020* Friday 3rd April 2020 Please come to main school reception between 3.30 and 4.00 pm. If you have any unwanted uniform in good condition that you wish to donate please send this in to main school reception, marked for the attention of the PTA. *Please note this date has changed

13 Reminders

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

Musical Instrument Insurance: Please be aware that the school's insurance policy does not cover students’ personal belongings. Please check that any valuable musical instruments are covered under your household insurance for use in school.

Piercings

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

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

Road Safety

PARENTS OF STUDENTS WHO CYCLE INTO SCHOOL

Please ensure your child is wearing a cycle helmet! We have had a number of incidents recently involving students not wearing a helmet. Hi vis jackets are also recommended during these dark autumn/winter months.

Your co-operation with this would be much appreciated.

14 Lytchett Lecture Series

The Three Abrahamic Religions; What are the differences and similarities?

Tuesday 28th January 2020, 6.00pm: Presented by Middle East Education

‘Poole Harbour Osprey Reintroduction Programme’

Thursday 2nd April 2020, 6.00pm: Presented by Paul Morton, University of Nottingham Medical School

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

15 Important Dates

Friday 20th December: Year 11 and 12 Reports Friday 20th December (12:15pm): School closes for start of the Christmas holidays Monday 6th January (8.45am): Start of the Spring Term Tuesday 7th January (6.00pm): Year 9 Options Evening Tuesday 14th January (4.00pm): KS3 Parent Workshop Thursday 16th January (4.00pm): Year 12 Parents Evening Thursday 23rd January (4.00pm): Year 9 Parents Evening Tuesday 28th January (6.00pm): Lecture ‘The Three Abrahamic Religions; What are the difference and similarities?’ Wednesday 12th February (7.00pm): Parent Forum

Trip Calendar

2nd April 2020 Ski Trip for Yr8, Yr9, Yr10 and Yr12 - Fully Booked Easter Holidays 2020 India Trip for those taking GCSE in Yr10 or 11, or A level PRE Fully booked. June 2020 French and Spanish Exchange 2020 29th June 2020 Paris Trip for Yr10, Yr11, Yr12 and Yr13 who are studying French at KS4 or 5 10th July 2020 Battlefields Trip for those taking History in Yr10—Fully Booked July 2021 World Challenge trip to Tanzania

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