Pride ● Passion ● Positivity February Half Term | Edition 27 Welcome from the Headteacher I was lucky enough to watch two performances of ‘Billy Elliot’ yesterday – it was absolutely tremendous! I thoroughly enjoyed the production, story, the acting, music, and the scenery was simply superb. My thanks go to all the students and staff who supported it, with a special thanks to Laura Bryce, Claire Foreman, Andy Day, the Art Dept and our Campus Services team. You may have seen rather a lot about Wymondham College in the press over the last week. A story about the College and state boarding featured on the front page of the Sunday Times and subsequently in the Telegraph, Metro, Mirror and Daily Mail. I am passionate about all things Wymondham College, but also the wider transformative nature of state boarding and was delighted to see this even discussed by Phil and Holly on ITV’s ‘This Morning’. The state boarding sector is small (only 36 schools nationally), so the more people know about our work, the better. In 2021 we will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of Wymondham College. As part of the programme of events to mark this milestone, we have been working with Norfolk Museum Service to design a permanent heritage centre that will be sited in the College Chapel, the last remaining Nissen hut. The heritage centre will celebrate the history of the College and be a lasting memorial to the vital role of the 231st USAAF hospital played in the dark days of the Second World War, the discovery of the ‘Morley Hoard’ (the largest collection of silver Anglo-Saxon coins found in the UK) and the Roman settlement, remains of which were discovered between Fry and Cavell Halls. We are aiming to raise £100,000 to make this vision a reality. The completed Heritage Centre will be used as a teaching resource as well as a focal point for our alumni when they visit us. Full details of the Chapel Project can be found on our website or pick up a booklet from Reception or the Chapel. To make a donation, click here: https://donatemyschool.com/wymondhamcollege All donors who give over £10 will have their name included in the ‘Wall of Supporters’ in the Chapel. Tel: 01953 609000 | Fax: 01953 603313 | Email: [email protected] | Web: www.wymondhamcollege.org | Facebook: Wymondham College | Twitter: @wymondhamcol Pride ● Passion ● Positivity February Half Term | Edition 27 Help us to secure the future of this important building. Please use this hashtag to help spread the word on social media - #WyColChapelProject Thank you for your continued support Mr Dan Browning – Headteacher @mrdbrowning Revision Guidelines for Parents As we come to the end of the first half term of 2020, I am reminded of how quickly time flies when you are busy at college. Before we realise it, the exam season will be upon us. Sometimes as parents or carers, we are not quite sure how best to support students in preparing for their exams. However, the holidays are a good time to establish routines around revision and staying healthy and so the information below offers some guidance about how best to do this. Here are a few pointers and things to consider when trying to support students. 1. Develop a strategy for supporting studying that works for both of you. This needs to help them to develop habits of studying effectively on their own; and to enable you to stay abreast of their work and provide help if necessary. This may be from your own knowledge, or advice about research, or even a note to College to explain where a problem lies. You can read some advice on the College website in the YEAR 11 REVISION tab and encourage them to do so too. This will give you both some helpful ideas about good practice for revision. You will also be invited to attend an evening at the College, later in the term, where we offer further advice and guidance. 2. Ask them what support, if any, they would like from you during their exams. For example, would they like you to be available for discussions, or to ferry them to College for some extra classes, or provide any additional resources, or even to help them draw up a realistic revision plan? It is a good idea to choose your moment for this discussion, and make sure that they do not see it as you ‘nagging’ them to revise, but rather an opportunity for them to say what they need from you. Tel: 01953 609000 | Fax: 01953 603313 | Email: [email protected] | Web: www.wymondhamcollege.org | Facebook: Wymondham College | Twitter: @wymondhamcol Pride ● Passion ● Positivity February Half Term | Edition 27 3. Make sure that you provide a suitable environment for study. Nobody is suggesting that you should turn your house into a library, with ‘Silence’ rules for large chunks of the time. However, you may need to ensure that noisy younger siblings are out of the way, or at least kept busy and quiet at times. 4. Make sure that they are looking after themselves. It is all too easy, when you’re studying, to forget to eat. With parents/carers working, many teenagers may be accustomed to feeding themselves, but revision periods may be the time to break this habit. Try to make sure that have a good cooked meal each day, and that they are eating a healthy, balanced diet. It is also important to make sure that they are getting enough sleep, and plenty of exercise. You may wish to lead by example here and take them out for a walk or a bike ride, or to the swimming pool, to give them a break from studying. I hope that you find this information helpful and that you have a good half term break. Preparing for the return to College Having the correct equipment for lessons is an important part of the learning experience. Without the necessary equipment, students find it hard to complete some tasks and struggle to access parts of the curriculum. Over the half term please can we ensure that all students have a full set of classroom equipment: black/blue pen, green pen, ruler, pencil, rubber and most importantly, a calculator. These can also be purchased from the maths department. It is also necessary to have a suitable school bag so that books and equipment are kept clean, dry and tidy throughout the school day, particularly when the weather is wet. Have a lovely break. Mrs J Edmunds-Grezio – Deputy Headteacher From the Bursar We are pleased to say that planned work across the College Campus continues at a pace. Recently there has been an important meeting in the Main School Refectory with architects to look at the complete interior refurbishment following the extension work this Summer. The meeting went very well, and the architects watched a full lunch period to observe the challenges of getting both pupils and staff through mealtime. We are looking forward to seeing the output of their visit and planning for a really great refreshed Main Refectory for the Autumn Term. The conversion of the Tom Eaton Centre into the home of the Music Department is going very well. The work has sought the outside expertise of Sound Engineers who have advised on construction details to deliver acoustic requirements. The work is on track to deliver a World Class facility for the Summer Term. Tel: 01953 609000 | Fax: 01953 603313 | Email: [email protected] | Web: www.wymondhamcollege.org | Facebook: Wymondham College | Twitter: @wymondhamcol Pride ● Passion ● Positivity February Half Term | Edition 27 You will be aware that we successfully bid for a minibus, kindly supported by the PSA, from the sadly liquidated assets of Hethersett Old Hall School. We have successfully bid for a further range of excellent quality items ranging from replacement Drama equipment, sports equipment and Art and Technology equipment (a pottery kiln and all the supporting equipment!). It is also part of our refurbishment programme to continue to upgrade the Boarding Houses. We have placed an order to completely replace all Year 13 beds with the new style cabin beds and wardrobes. I’m not sure the Campus Services team are looking forward to the heavy lifting over the Easter holiday, but the result will be really worth it! Our next projects in the Boarding Houses will start a rolling programme of complete refurbishment of all the bathroom areas but this will take a couple of years to complete. Finally, we are currently devising a new rolling programme for the refresh of all the teaching areas involving decorating, carpets and where necessary new LED lighting. Mr P Cox – Bursar & Operations Manager Design Technology – Recycling In the D&T department, in a bid to be more sustainable, we are collecting empty/ broken pens, markers, highlighters and correction fluid containers. There is a collection point outside T4 in the Atrium currently, and more will be popping up in departments around the school. The pens will be sent to Terracycle, in conjunction with one of our Trust schools - Ghost Hill Infants School, who will benefit from any donations made. The pens will be recycled, rather than being sent to landfill. Please support us in trying to make the world a slightly better place. Calling all budding designers… The D & T department want a new logo that can be used on letter heads, badges and all promotional material within the department. We need YOU to design a logo that will represent the department and can be easily replicated. This is open to all year groups.