Newsletter 160414

All Hallows Catholic College Newsletter Whitsun

PRAYER Lord Jesus, Through the gift of your Holy Spirit, fill us with a spirit of praise and joy which no earthly trial can hold back. Fill us with your resurrection joy and help us to live a life of praise and thanksgiving for your glory. May we witness to those around us the joy of the gospel and the reality of your resurrection.

Amen.

YEAR LEARNING LEADERS– DROP IN SURGERIES Year 10 Thursday 5 June between 12.00 and 1.00 p.m. with Mrs Remfry.

Year 7 and Year 8 Friday 18 July between 8.30 a.m and 9.30 a.m with Mr Mercer and Mr Parke 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. Future dates for other year groups will be confirmed shortly. .

Friday 16th May 2014

EXAMS Friday 23/05/14 INSET DAY EXAMS Please be advised that the following GCE/GCSE exams will be taking place on the above date.

GCE (AS) CHEM1 @ 9.00 am GCE (AS) 6RS02 @13.00 pm (Ethics and Philosophy Paper 2) GCSE (Year 11) Drama Unit 3 @13.00 pm GCSE (Year 11) History Unit 2 @ 9.00 am Dates and times are set by the exam boards and cannot be re-arranged by the College. Students taking these courses are therefore expected to attend their exams on this date in school uniform or business dress. School buses will be arranged for students concerned. Parents/Guardians please complete transport requirements slips and return to Form Tutor/Reception/ Exams Office. Thank you.

Exam Results Days - August 2014 Thursday 14th August 2014 8:30am - 10:30am A2 Results (Year 13) 11:00am - 12:30am AS Results (Year 12) Thursday 21st August 2014 10:00am - 12:00 noon - GCSE Results (Y11 only) Results must be collected in person. They will not be issued over the telephone or by email.

SPECIALISM SUCCESS James Wedge in Year 9 has been commended by Will Griffiths, the Director of the Cambridge School Classics Project, with his ability to compose highly accurate Latin sentences - an advanced skill not required for GCSE or even A level Latin. Miss Easter had attended one of Will Griffiths training courses and shown some of James' work. Will was so impressed that he posted an electronic version of a Latin dictionary to James for free with a note to say that a little bird had told him that James enjoys writing Latin. We can apparently expect a poem in Latin soon.....watch this space!

CAREERS ADVICE FOR STUDENTS Our new careers advisor, Mrs Jean Pilling, has now seen 163 students for impartial careers interviews since she started in mid-December.

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 will be given to Year 11, 12 and 13 students, but she will also see other students lower down the college for careers interviews. She has a drop in on Thursday lunchtime for students of any year.

SAINBURYS ACTIVE KIDS VOUCHERS Please can the PE Department appeal to all parents and students to collect as many Sainsbury's vouchers as possible between now and 20th June? Please pass to a member of the PE Department or Mrs Kurek in the Library.

ALL HALLOWS IS AGAINST BULLYING We would like to remind students and parents that our website has links to an anti-bullying email service. bullying@allhallowslearning.org.uk is the email address that can be used to confidentially report incidents of bullying to a senior teacher.

Students are also encouraged to report bullying to their form tutor and Year Learning Leader.

The College is pleased to announce we have recently become a Stonewall Champion School and will work with students to tackle homophobic bullying. Our Principal has now delivered anti-homophobic assemblies to our students and Mr Blades attended a Stonewall Conference in London where we became a Champion School. Mr Blades will give more details to students in due course, but in the meantime students, as well as parents and staff, are welcome to support the Stonewall No Bystanders Campaign. See www.nobystanders.org.uk ECO FACT 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared to making it from raw materials.

PARENTS AS PARTNERS: STUDENT PLANNERS Parents are requested to check student planners regularly and sign them once weekly. Student planners are used to record homework but also as a means of communicating between college and home. We would ask parents to support us in checking homework is being recorded and checking for any messages from college staff

ADVANCED NOTICE Languages Controlled Assessments 2013-2014

Please find below the list of dates for the languages controlled assessments. Each assessment can count for 15% of the final GCSE. Teachers will let your son/daughter know on which dates they will complete assessments. Please avoid time off both on the date and in the lessons preceding these dates. Please contact a.harrison@allhallows.org.uk with any queries.

Year 10 Speaking 2

Thursday/Friday 3 /4 July

Year 9 Speaking

Tuesday/Wednesday 8/9 July

RECOMMENDED READS Yankee Girl

by Mary Ann Rodman An unflinching and heartfelt story about racism and finding the strength to stand up for what's right. Set in the Deep South in the 1960s, Yankee Girl still has strong resonances today.

It's 1964 and Alice Anne Moxley has moved to Mississippi from Chicago with her family. The 'Yankee Girl' is taunted by the other girls at school, although she soon discovers the other new girl - the school's first black student suffers much worse. Alice is disturbed by what goes on, but knows she will remain an outsider if she defends Valerie. It takes a tragedy for her to realise what is really important and find the courage to act.

The Indian in the Cupboard

by Lynne Reid Banks The Indian in the Cupboard is the first of five gripping books about Omri and his plastic North American Indian - Little Bull - who comes alive when Omri puts him in a cupboard For Omri, it is a dream come true when the plastic American Indian he locks into the old cupboard comes to life. Little Bull is everything an Indian brave should be proud, fearless and defiant. But being in charge of a real, live, human being is a heavy responsibility, as Omri soon discovers. And when his best friend, Patrick, is let in on the secret, he soon realises that life-changing decisions lie ahead.

CALENDAR Term

College Opens to Students

College Closes to Students

Whitsun

Wednesday 23 April 2014

Thursday 22 May 2014

Trinity

Monday 2 June 2014

Tuesday 22 July 2014

Michaelmas

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

Friday 24 October 2014

Christmas

Monday 3 November 2014

Friday 19 December 2014

Epiphany

Monday 5 January 2015

Friday 13 February 2015

Easter

Monday 20 April 2015

Friday 22 May 2015

The following are the dates for training days in 2013-14. Students are not required to attend on these days. Unless taking an external exam.

Friday 23 May 2014 Wednesday 23 July 2014 Monday 1 September 2014 Please click here for the 2014- 2015 Calendar

ATTENDANCE MATTERS Attendance matters at All Hallows Over the last week of College attendance was as follows:

96.50% 96.00% 95.50%

Year 7 - 95.6% (down 1.7% on the previous week) Year 8 - 96.1% (up 0.5%, well done Year 8)

95.00% 94.50% 94.00%

Year 9 - 94.9% (down 1.5%) Year 10 - 93.6% (down 1.6%)

93.50%

93.00% 92.50%

Year 11 - 94.9% (down 0.1%) Year 12 – 94.24% (up 0.06% on last week)

92.00%

YEAR 7

YEAR 8

YEAR 9

YEAR 10

YEAR 11

YEAR 12

YEAR 13

Year 13 - 93.63% (down 1.26% on last week) This was not a good week apart from Year 8 and we should be doing better at this stage in the year. The average for the week was 94.9% (down 0.9% on the previous week and 0.6% down on the equivalent week last year). Since 3rd September attendance has decreased 0.1% to 95.5%. We aim for 97%.

Last week GIRLS attendance has decreased 1.0% to 93.8%, BOYS attendance has decreased 0.7% to 96.2%. Since 3rd September boys are winning girls 96.2% to 95.0%.

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 Mr Diamond 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.