E: [email protected] T: 01858 440770 W: www.robertsmyth.tgacademy.org.uk Dear Parent/Carer, It is a privilege to begin this edition of Newscheck by sharing what a positive term this has been for the Academy. I feel that it is important to start by congratulating all students in Year 11 and 13 on the completion of their trial examinations in preparation for summer assessments. I do recognise how much hard work this involves for those students and I am grateful for the way that they have taken this learning opportunity seriously allowing for important feedback to be offered by their class teachers. These students, like all others, have benefitted from an incredible body of hard work from our staff team this term. I would like to pay tribute to my colleagues who have worked so diligently over the course of a long term to support these young people. As we look to the Spring, there is much to be optimistic about. I have been delighted with the response from the community and Harborough District Council to our proposal to build an all-weather pitch for students. This project is moving forward and will bring excellent sporting opportunities for all students in the future. I have also been delighted by the way that recent acquisitions to our teaching team have added to the quality of teaching so quickly and I would like to thank Miss Coles, Miss Clipston and Mrs Mills for the superb contributions that they have made since the summer. I have been delighted by the progress of students who have joined the Academy most recently and the conduct and hard work of students in Year 7 and 12 fills me with further excitement for a bright 2020. I must take this opportunity to thank Mrs Green who leaves us this Christmas following 25 years working in our inclusion department. In her time with the Academy she has positively supported students and colleagues and she will be missed as she approaches a well-deserved retirement. I must also thank Mr Pierce for his hard work as Teacher of Maths as he leaves at Christmas following his work in the Autumn Term. I have experienced so many highlights this term which have included supporting our Year 10 Netball Team as they participated in the regional finals, working with the editorial team for the soon to be published Robert Smyth Times newspaper and most recently enjoying the fabulous Christmas Concert presented by the Performing Arts Faculty. I remain deeply grateful for the work of our student-led charitable group CAIRS (Charitable Action In Robert Smyth) who have organised several successful fundraising events including a non-uniform day and a Christmas jumper day to secure donations for local and national charities. I don’t think that this work could have been possible without the passion and commitment of Mrs Eddy who has played an integral role in the achievements of CAIRS. I have been delighted by the incredible number of students who will receive letters of commendation in the coming weeks for having accrued no penalty points this term and for the attainment of two full pages of merit stickers. It is important that students who receive these commendation letters keep them as these documents will enable them access to end of year rewards trips in the summer term. I must take this moment to congratulate all recipients of these special letters for their excellent start to the academic year. It has been noticed and it matters. I would like to wish all members of our community a restful Christmas break. I wish you safety, happiness and joy at this time of the year and I look forward to welcoming students and staff back in January as we approach a year filled with promise and hope. Preparation for January, a few practical notes: - All students will follow their timetable for WEEK B in the first week back after the holiday period - Equipment checks will be completed on the first morning of the new term by form tutors - Students must bring their old planner to submit to their form tutor on the first morning - Students will be issued with a new planner for the new term which must be brought into school every day as an essential part of their equipment. Failure to do so will result in a thirty-minute detention after school - Mobile phones are not permitted on site. If seen or heard they will be confiscated, a serious sanction will apply and a parent will be required to collect the device from Main Reception - Students who arrive after 8.45 a.m. will be marked as late which will result in a sanction - Hammond College will be required to attend the Main Hall on Monday 6th January at 8.45 a.m. for assembly - If purchasing uniform, please note uniform guidance https://www.robertsmyth.tgacademy.org.uk/files/2019/07/RSA-Uniform-Guide-Final-2019.pdf - If specifically purchasing school shoes for boys, please note uniform guidance https://www.robertsmyth.tgacademy.org.uk/files/2019/09/Acceptable-shoes-2019.pdf - Students who attend school may not have decorative nails, nose piercings, ‘spacers’, extreme haircuts or hair dye. If a student arrives to school in January with any of these features, they will not be able to attend lessons until it has been resolved and there will be a clear sanction for breach of the uniform policy - Students who cycle to school must wear a helmet to ensure that they are safe on the road. If this is not worn or evident then we will decline access to parking bicycles on our site Daniel Cleary Principal Dates for your Diary Monday 6th January 2020, Academy opens to staff and students (Week B) Thursday 16th January 2020, Year 10 Parents’ Evening Wednesday 22nd January 2020, Sixth Form Open Morning Thursday 23rd January 2020, Year 11 Parents’ Evening Friday 24th January 2020, Standardisation, Moderation and Assessment Day, Trust Inset Day (closed to students) Monday 27th January 2020, Year 8 Specialisms Taster lessons Thursday 30th January 2020, Year 13 Parents’ Evening Wednesday 5th February 2020, GCSE Science trip Wednesday 5th February 2020, Theatre Group to perform Macbeth at RSA Wednesday 5th February 2020, Year 12 Parents’ Evening Thursday 6th February 2020, International Maths Challenge Years 9-11 Thursday 6th to Friday 7th February 2020, ‘Lock In’ 2020 Monday 10th February 2020, Year 8 Options Evening Monday 24th to Friday 28th February 2020, Year 11 Trial Exams Monday 24th to Friday 28th February 2020, Year 9 GCSE Geography & Business trip to Cornwall Year 10 Work Experience 2020 – Monday 29th June to Friday 3rd July All Year 10 students should now have their work experience application forms and booklets. The Christmas period may be a good time to start thinking about what you may like to do for work experience and perhaps approach an employer to ask if they can take you for work experience next year. Alternatively the school can help you find a placement; please contact Student Services in the first instance. If you are considering either Joules, John Lewis Highcross, Protheroes or Wooden House Kennels as a placement, please speak to Student Services and not the employer as the school is processing applications on behalf of these employers. We may also have placements available at The Cube Theatre in Corby. Students interested in this placement should hand a CV and letter in to Student Services in the first instance. If you have any questions about work experience please speak to Student Services. Student Services and Mr Webb It was an early start for the 27 intrepid historians from Years 9 and 10 who gathered outside the school at 4am on Tuesday morning, 29th October for a three day trip which would be potentially life-changing. Organised by the History Department, the trip had a twin aim – to inspire students to feel the realities of the glories and the horrors of WW1 and to enthuse them with insights into medical advances made during the war (the focus of the GCSE course). Travelling extensively through Northern France and Belgium, we visited a wide range of sites – medical field stations, cemeteries, dressing stations, cemeteries, museums, cemeteries, specific memorials (such as the attending the moving Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate, pictured below), battle sites and…cemeteries. The Menin Gate Tyne Cote Cemetery For each student, there was a different experience to cherish and ponder. For some, it was the impact of the cemeteries themselves – row upon neatly maintained row, with poignant inscriptions honouring the dead, including nurse Nellie Spindler who died saving others. For others, one of the museums we visited, getting a tangible sense of life in the trenches. For others, the experience of seeing the physical devastation of the craters which are still evident. For still others, the moving sensation of walking across no man’s land, in between what had been the front lines of each army. Alongside the emotions of the battlefields, we took numerous opportunities to consider the ways in which soldiers were treated medically. From the work of stretcher bearers to the Regimental Aid post, the dressing stations, casualty clearing stations and base hospitals, we looked at archives and exhibits which brought home how many innovations were made. Innovations which we still benefit from significantly – the use of X-rays, blood transfusions, surgical advances and so on. My thanks to my Humanities colleagues, Miss Cordwent and Miss McLeod who gave us many helpful insights, not least into the impact of geographical factors in war.