Newsletter 05092014

All Hallows Catholic College Newsletter Michaelmas

PRAYER FOR THE COLLEGE YEAR Bless us as we start this new College year, Help us to make the most of every chance we receive, May we show love to one another and to all.

May the new beginning of this year remind us that you give us chances to start over and over again.

Protect us and guide us Lord And help us to live as you would want us to.

We ask this in the unity of the Holy Spirit, Through Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

Friday 5th September 2014

TRIPS AND UPCOMING EVENTS Disco for year 7&8 students.

Friday 19th September from 6-8pm. Tickets £3 available from the cash office. Letters of consent distributed next week.

'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' Monday 5th January 2015. For letters see Mrs Michaels down in Drama. First come first served to open to all Years 9-13.

Ski Trip If anyone is interested in the ski trip please come and see Mrs A Marsh in F6.

SPECIALISM SUCCESS Nine Y12 BTEC Business Students who are enrolled with The Career Academy UK all successfully completed paid internships with local businesses over the summer. The students have come back into Y13 full of enthusiasm for the experiences they have had and with confidence levels high. Some of the students reported that they enjoyed the experience so much, they didn't want to finish and literally some students didn't finish, but carried on with their internship at the invitation of the company. Particularly worthy of note is Dominic Bentley who completed nine weeks with Axon IT in Macclesfield. Other companies providing internships included Peaks and Plains Housing Trust, Chrome Motors, Barclays Bank and Soft Surfaces Ltd. Work placement supervisors provided very positive feedback on all interns who are to be congratulated on their professional approach to completing 'real world' work tasks to exceptionally high standards.

BUS TIMETABLES Please note that the current bus timetables are available on the College website. Please go to For Parents > Parental Information > Transport and Trips > Transport Booklet to check any changes in timings PARENTS AS PARTNERS—THE NEW TERM Uniform and Equipment: All students should have returned to College wearing the correct, full uniform and be carrying the correct equipment in a College bag.

A full list of uniform and equipment expectations was sent to parents together with the end of year report.

Student Planners: Parents are requested to check student planners regularly and sign them once weekly.

OPEN MORNINGS AND EVENING Open Evening - 15 September 7pm until 9:30pm Open Morning - 23 September 9:30am until 11:00am Open Morning - 30 September 9:30am until 11:00am Open Morning - 7 October 9:30am until 11:00am YEAR LEARNING LEADER “DROP IN SURGERIES” Year 7 - 24 September and 12 November (11.00-12.30) Year 8 - 14 October and 16 December (11.45-1.15) Year 9 - 6 October and 1 December (9.00-10.00) Year 10 - 17 October and 5 December (1.15-2.00) Year 11 - 29 September and 8 December (2.30-3.30) These are for parents who would like to discuss any concerns relating to their child. No appointment is necessary but please be prepared to wait. Feel free to contact our Pastoral Assistant, Mrs C Jepson (C.Jepson@allhallows.org.uk 01625 426138 x215) should you require an appointment with a Year Learning Leader.

USING TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS Students (and parents) are encouraged to use our two dedicated email address should they need help and support from staff. bullying@allhallowslearning.org.uk is for students and parents to report bullying issues if required. beingme@allhallowslearning.org.uk is for students to use should they find themselves in need of help, support and guidance for any other issues that they face.

Emails will be read by a senior member of staff who will then seek out other staff volunteers (we have 18 of them) to offer the help and support that is required.

CAREERS ADVICE FOR STUDENTS Our careers advisor, Mrs Jean Pilling, has seen 266 students for impartial careers interviews since she started in last December 22% of the whole College. If any parents would like their son or daughter to have a careers interview this year then please notify the relevant Year Leader who can ensure names are added to the list. Priority is now with Year 11 students and sixth formers, but other students in Year 9 and Year 10 may also have careers interviews appointments over the next few months. Students in Year 7 and Year 8 are welcome to attend her lunch time drop in. She uses the Student Support office based next door to Music

RECOMMENDED READS The Silver Donkey by Sonya Hartnett One morning in the woods of France, a blinded soldier is found by two sisters, Coco and Marcelle. In return for their kindness the soldier tells the sisters marvellous tales, connected with the keepsake he carries in his pocket: a tiny silver donkey. As the days pass and they struggle to help the soldier reach home, the sisters learn the truth behind the silver donkey and what the precious object means: honesty, loyalty and courage.

Recommended for: Students who are interested in history, specifically the effects of war on different types of people and how they deal with it.

The prequel to the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series.

Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next. Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there’s something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet, it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its knees.

Suited for KS3/KS4 Boys

BOOK COVERS At All Hallows we take pride in the presentation of our students work. For this reason, we suggest that students protect their exercise books with CLEAR covers.

Good news! We are stocking plastic book covers in the Pod, our College shop, so please don’t feel the need to rush out and get them all this weekend. The covers we have in stock have come directly from our exercise book provider, so are made to fit our books perfectly.

Prices in the Pod are: 9”x7” (small) covers 50p A4 (large) covers 75p Special Offer - Buy 5, get one free The Pod is open at both breaks during the College day.

ATTENDANCE MATTERS Last year attendance was a fantastic 95.8% across Year 7 to Year 11 with sixth form attendance also very high. This was an improvement from 94.1% in the previous year. We have our sights set high and will aim for 97% this year, but we need your support as parents to do this.

Parents are politely reminded to avoid absence unless it is absolutely necessary. Thank you for your on-going support regarding medical absence and holiday absence.

Holiday absence from College Holidays have not been authorised since 1st September 2013 under new legislation on all English schools. Requests for holidays must still be made in writing to the appropriate Key Stage leader (Mrs Garvey KS5, Mr Blades KS4 and KS3), but in the vast majority of cases they will be unauthorised. A Fixed Penalty Notice may be issued of £60 per parent / carer per student, to be paid within 21 days, otherwise the penalty will rise to £120 per parent / carer to be paid within 28 days. If the penalty remains unpaid then the matter will proceed to the Magistrates Court where you will receive a criminal record if you are found guilty.

Medical absence from College Whilst the College requires parents to contact us on each day of absence, school policy now requires that any student who accumulates 7 or more days of absence during the course of the academic year will be asked to provide medical confirmation of the need to be absent before any further absences are authorised for medical reasons. This is a necessary measure as we closely monitor absence due to illness / medical reasons in order that we can ensure students are supported where needed. For your information medical confirmation does not have to be a doctor's note but can also take the form of a medical appointment card, a copy of a relevant dated prescription or evidence of medication being taken. If no medical evidence is provided then the absence will be coded as unauthorised. Ten or more unauthorised absences may result in you receiving a Fixed Penalty Notice. This incurs a penalty of £60 per parent / carer to be paid within 21 days, otherwise the penalty will rise to £120 per parent / carer to be paid within 28 days. If the penalty remains unpaid then the matter will proceed to the Magistrates Court where you will receive a criminal record if you are found guilty.

The link between attendance and achievement is well researched and documented and students should be aiming for an attendance rate of no less than 97% over the year. Thank you for your support with this importance issue.

PUNCTUALITY Most students appreciate the importance of being in College on time. Children who are regularly late do miss out on their education and form bad habits that will not be tolerated in the workplace.

As a result of the change to the College day we need to inform parents that students must be in the registration form class for the register to be taken at 8.45am. This means students should arrive 5-10 minutes earlier in College to be on time.

Any students arriving after 8.45am will receive a L code. Two L codes within a week will result in a form tutor detention.

Any student arriving after 9.05am will receive a U code. This means they will be classed as absent for the whole morning and this may have consequences for overall attendance.

Thank you for your co-operation and support with this matter

CALENDAR Term

College Opens to Students

College Closes to Students

Michaelmas

Tuesday 2 September 2014 (Year 7, 12 and 13) Wednesday 3 September 2014 (All Students)

Friday 24 October 2014

Christmas

Tuesday 4 November 2014

Friday 19 December 2014

Epiphany

Monday 5 January 2015

Thursday 12 February 2015

Easter

Monday 23 February 2015

Thursday 2 April 2015

Whitsun

Monday 20 April 2015

Thurdays 21 May 2015

Trinity

Monday 6 July 2015

Tuesday 21 July 2015

The following are the dates for training days in 2013-15. Students are not required to attend on these days unless taking an external exam.

Monday 3 November 2014 Friday 13 February 2015 Friday 22 May 2015

STUDENT SUPPORT ACROSS THE COLLEGE Careers Support - Mrs J Pilling - Monday and Thursday Visyon Counsellor -Mrs L Nolan - Tuesday College Nurse - Mrs J Jones - Wednesday Family Support - Mrs P Shatwell - Monday and Friday bullying@allhallowslearning.org.uk beingme@allhalowslearning.org.uk esafety@allhallowslearning.org.uk