Settle College Matters Years 8 & 9 Inside this issue December Message from the Head of School & Newsletter Executive Head 2 2017 Thank You 3 6th Form Matters 4-5 Coffee & Cake Evening 6-8 Design a Christmas Card Winner Business Links 9 Poetry Please 10-11 Geography – Going Places 12-13 Geography 14-17 Student of the Month 18- 20 All Things Careers 21 Young People Saving Lives 22 Student Voice 23 Fund Raising Events 24 The Eco Group 25 National Citizen Service 26 Girls’ Rugby 27-30 Boys’ Rugby 31-33 Cross Country Selection 34-35 British Judo Success 36 Xmas Card Competition 37 Apprenticeship Show 38 Disco 39 The Wizard of Oz 40 Attendance Matters 41 Academic Term Dates 42 1st Place – Annabelle Pettifer – form 8K Congratulations to Annabelle whose card has been printed and sent out to local schools and governors. See page 37 for news of other winners. Message from our Leaders Christmas is now but days away, and we have had a fantastic term, culminating in celebrating Senior Prize Giving in the last week. This is always an enjoyable opportunity to catch up with students following Sixth Form, hearing of their new directions and of the GCSE students who have moved on to pastures new. We have also enjoyed the Christmas Concerts this week and Christmas Carol Concert the week before. These are a real testament to our “happy & thriving school community where every student is recognised as an individual”, and are all about creating opportunities and students engaging in their environment. As a school we have treated ourselves to an early Christmas present - all staff now have access to a new piece of software called “Classcharts”, which enables real time monitoring of students through school, providing rewards and sanctions immediately for all to see. We shall be launching the parent element to bylinethis in the New Year once we have embedded its full use at the College. [Name] We wish Miss Jamil our very best as she begins her maternity leave, and we welcome Mrs Bashir who replaces her in the English department. Other staffing news this term is a new addition to the team, we welcome Mrs Shepherd as a Higher Level Teaching Assistant. We wish all our families a happy, restful and safe Christmas break. Mr G Whitaker Head of School Mr A Taylor Executive Headteacher Horton Leisure Management & THANK YOU Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust Settle College would like to say a huge thank you to Horton Leisure Management who have kindly sponsored a whole new rugby kit for the girls’ rugby team. The girls helped with the design of the kit and I am sure you would agree have done a fantastic job. Should you or a local business like to sponsor a team kit for Settle College then please contact Mrs Tarjanyi (Head of PE) [email protected] yorks.sch.uk A MASSIVE Thankyou One of our students has extreme vision difficulties and we sent a request out to the local community to ask if any companies had 'old' laptops they would be willing to donate to the college once all their company data had been removed. The college do have netbooks for students to use but they are the mini versions. A huge thank you to the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust who gave the college a full sized laptop for our student to use. Many thanks also to Mr Brade, our ICT Manager, who uploaded all the Settle College software to ensure the student could access their work. This laptop has made a massive difference to the student as the words and pictures can be enlarged to enhance the learning. The student said 'being able to use this resource has been great and it is making a big difference in the classroom every day.' Mrs Lodge Sixth Form Matters By Mr Murphy Autumn Term The autumn term, whilst I cannot say has flown by, has been an extremely busy one, and I would firstly like to thank you for your support and understanding as I grow into the role of new Head of Sixth Form. September can be an anxious time for students making the transition from GCSE to A Level, and from Year 12 to Year 13. We support this with activities designed to make things easier. This year, for Year 12 we hosted a speaker from Northumbria University and the crucial skills of being a Sixth Former were analysed. For Year 13, the focus has been on the future, and applications for university or apprenticeship routes. We have taken some students to Harrogate to visit the National Apprenticeship fair to allow them to see the options available and have the chance to talk to employers. In PSHE, we have worked on completing application forms and personal statements. Many students have been to Open Days to experience life at a top university. We have also had the outreach team in from Oxford and Cambridge University to talk about applications to Oxbridge. We have supported those students who are applying for Oxbridge and Medicine courses this year to give them the best chance of success. Over the course of the term, we have had assemblies from the National Citizen Service with regard to volunteering opportunities, Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust about apprenticeships, North Yorkshire Fire and Police about road safety and Student Finance England to inform about how to apply for university funding. We will continue to arrange for guest speakers to come into college and talk to the students in the New Year. On each student’s timetable there is one period a week devoted to aspects that are separate to A Levels. Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) is a statutory element to our curriculum. The programme is designed to keep young people safe, mentally and physically healthy and prepared for life and work. Students can work on an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), worth ½ an A Level and recognised by universities as being useful. Indeed, the University of York instead of publishing an offer of AAB for one of their degree courses, will offer ABB if the student has an EPQ. We also use the time to write personal statements for both university and apprenticeships, and here too is the support and advice for all post 18 careers. It is therefore vital that all students should attend all sessions, and not just opt in when they want to; we trust that parents will appreciate this valuable opportunity and will support this message. Sixth Form Matters Continued from previous page I am incredibly blessed to have such a proactive and hardworking Sixth Form committee. Led by the Head Girl and Boy, they have accomplished so much this term. They have represented the College well at open evening events, they have accompanied me on Post 16 talks at local secondary schools and have supported the lower school aiming to make good their promises in their election campaign in June. So far they have organised a charity cake sale, a non-uniform day for Children in Need, a Year 7/8 Disco, a “Best Christmas Decorated Form” competition and a Christmas jumper day for Save the Children. As I write, they are busy putting the final touches to the Winter Ball in Kirkby Lonsdale. This will be a long evening for the staff who are there and a constant supply of coffee will be required. Whenever needed, the committee have turned up and supported the events happening at Settle College. Behind the scenes, they are involved with the prefect system, mentoring lower year students and helping out with Year 7 paired reading. Settle College really does offer fantastic leadership opportunities. Over the Christmas period, in between watching Christmas films and eating another mince pie, students’ attention should be turning to revision for the January mock examinations. For some there are external examinations in Business and Sport. As A Levels have changed to examinations after 2 years, these mock examinations are a good opportunity for students to practise examination technique and evaluate their knowledge and understanding. Finally, I would like take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year on behalf of everyone in the Sixth Form team. Mr S.Murphy Head of Sixth Form rd Coffee & Cake Evening – 23 Nov By Mr Murphy We would like to share with you a number of topics that were discussed with the parents who came along to our Coffee and Cake Evening in the 6th Form Centre. First of all, many thanks to the parents who were able to come and join us. It was great to have an informal discussion about our 6th Form and discuss future opportunities. Some really interesting questions were asked and we would like to take this opportunity to inform all parents about the process of Post 16 and life after ‘A’ Levels. You asked Our response About the process The process begins after the summer examinations in June of Year 12. In their of applications to Personal Development lesson, we begin to talk about life after Settle College and university and the start to encourage each student to write their personal statement. Students then deadlines start to research courses and universities. We run 2 Higher Education trips in June. One is to the Higher Education Fair at Leeds Beckett University where all university representatives are there to discuss the courses they offer. The second trip is to Lancaster University to look at the application process and the skills needed to be a successful university student. It is also a great chance to see a campus and the facilities on offer.