Newsletter 120914

All Hallows Catholic College Newsletter Michaelmas

PRAYER RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY Almighty and merciful God, whose Son became a refugee and had no place to call his own; look with mercy on those who today are fleeing from danger, homeless and hungry.

Bless those who work to bring them relief; inspire generosity and compassion in all our hearts; and guide the nations of the world towards that day when all will rejoice in your Kingdom of justice and of peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Friday 12th 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 Marsh in F6.

BUSES—REMINDERS TO PARENTS Bostocks/Holmeswood Coaches have informed us that there was serious overcrowding on some buses at the start of term. This was due to a large number of families not getting the passes before term started. The numbers were therefore impossible to predict accurately. It would be very helpful if as many families as possible purchase the passes - and there are savings to be made with advance payment. Please contact them directly through the website: www.holmeswood.uk.com Information about the journeys and prices are available from the company or the parents section of our website.

PARENTS AS PARTNERS— COLLEGE BAGS A few students have returned to college with the incorrect college bag. We have been in touch with our uniform supplier Finesse who have requested that if you still need to purchase one of our college bags to phone them. They have a delivery on 23rd September 2014. Their number is: 01625 616986. The college bag is compulsory for all students in Year 7 through to Year 11. Thank you 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.

CASHLESS SYSTEM Please note that from Monday 15th September the canteen will be no longer accepting cash at break and lunch. Students can only top their accounts up with cash before 8:45am . If you top up your child’s account online, the effect is instant, so you can top up on the day if need be. Please also be aware that we do not accept cash or cheques for trips. If you are having trouble using the ParentPay system, please call and ask for Finance on 01625 426138.

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

Emails will be read by a senior member of staff who then will seek out other staff volunteers (we have 18 of them) to offer the help and support that is required BIOMETRICS Students use a biometric system to pay for meals in school. Each child will only be registered with your consent. If you do not consent to your child’s biometric data being taken, they will be issued with a PIN which they can use to pay. The system uses an image of the fingerprint to create a mathematical algorithm and then discards the fingerprint. Only the numbers remain and these can not be interpreted back to the fingerprint. It is very similar to the way a cardcode works, the that the shape is scanned to recall a number.

FREE SCHOOL MEALS Students who are on free school meals do not need collect a token to get their meal. Their allowance is £2.25 is automatically loaded onto to their lunch account daily. This helps with anonymity for students and helps to prevent bullying.

If you do have any queries on biometrics, ParentPay or free school meals, please contact Finance on 01625426138.

SPECIALISM SUCCESS Congratulations to students who celebrated their bilingualism by gaining accreditation in the summer in their home language.

Languages accredited include, French, Polish, Italian and Russian RECOMMENDED READS I Am the Messenger

by Markus Zusak Ed’s life is dull and drab. He is an underage cab driver, who is hopelessly in love with his best friend and owns a coffee-addicted dog. However, his life takes an unexpected turn when he accidentally stops a bank robbery and finds himself being placed in charge of watching out for the entire town! If you enjoyed ‘The Book Thief’ or are a fan of crime thrillers, this book is ideal for you.

CAREERS ADVICE FOR STUDENTS If any parents would like their son or daughter to have careers interviews with Mrs Pilling, our Careers Advisor, this year then please notify the relevant Year Leader who can ensure names are added to the list. Priority is now with the year 11 students and Sixthformers, but other students in Year 9 and Year 10 may also have careers interviews appointment 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.

ECO FACT If every UK household installed just one energy efficient bulb tomorrow, we’d save £80 million a year and enough electricity to power the UK’s street lighting for 7 months. We’d also save half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

EXAMS OFFICE UPDATE Public Exams: Tuesday 4 November—Friday 7 November: GCSE resits only A Level & GCSE Controlled Assessments: primarily March & April 2015 PUBLIC EXAM SCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY 22 MAY 2015 (INSET DAY): GCSE English Literature (Morning), GCE CHEM1 (Morning), GCE GENA2 (Afternoon) PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT EXAMS INFORMATION WILL BE UPDATED REGULARY ON THE COLLEGE WEBSITE 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@allhallowslearning.org.uk esafety@allhallowslearning.org.uk SIXTH FORM (YEAR 12) The Student Finance Road Show is the College on Wednesday am (pd1) to advise on the student loan system.

SIXTH FORM (YEAR 13) Common Room Bond - £10 to be paid through Parent Pay by Friday 27th September SIXTH FORM CODE OF DRESS All students have been issued the code of dress prior to entry to Sixth Form. It is essential that it conforms to that 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

ATTENDANCE MATTER AT ALL HALLOW Over the last week of College attendance was as follows:

98.50%

Year 7 - 97.7% Year 8 - 98.0% Year 9 - 97.4% Year 10– 96%.6 Year 11 - 96.6%

98.00%

This was a good start to the year, well done to all students. The average for the week was 97.1%. We aim for 97%.

96.00%

Last week GIRLS attendance was 96.4%, BOYS attendance was 97.9%

95.00%

97.50% 97.00% 96.50%

95.50% YEAR 7

YEAR 8

YEAR 9

YEAR 10

YEAR 11

HOLIDAY ASBENCE 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/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 continued support with this importance issue.

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 2014-15. 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