Newsletter 06 12 2013

All Hallows Catholic College Newsletter Christmas Term

Friday 6th December 2013

COMMUNITY MASS All Hallows Chapel every Friday 9am-9.45am Parents/Carers/Parishioners are all welcome

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK Advent Prayer Loving God, through your prophets and holy men and women, you spoke to future generations of our need to prepare our hearts.

Bless the holy men and women who are the prophets of our day. As we look to your Son's Second Coming, may we be always aware of your power to shape the future. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

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 GCE (AS) DRAM1 GCE (AS) 6RS02 GCSE (Year 11) History Unit 2 Dates and times are dictated 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. School buses will be arranged for students concerned.

Exam Results Days - August 2014

ECO FACT UK households use £1.2 billion worth of electricity on refrigeration every year. To help cut costs don’t leave the door open any longer than is necessary as cold air will escape. Avoid putting hot food into the fridge, defrost the freezer regularly to keep it running efficiently and economically, and check the door seals are working properly. If it is absolutely necessary to put your fridge or freezer next to a cooker or boiler, leave a good gap between them.

PARENTS AS PARTNERS: STAYING HEALTHY Only plain water in clear plastic bottles is allowed in class. Fruit juices and squash may be brought into College for drinking before College, at break, lunch or after College. No cans or any kind of carbonated drinks are allowed at any time during the College day or in after-College clubs. These, when found, will be confiscated.

Thursday 14th August 2014 08:30am - 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)

SPECIALISM SUCCESS OF THE WEEK Two Year 9 teams, 'Fruit-ega' and 'The Bee Sting', formed in a BITE enrichment activity competed in the first round of an enterprise project this week sponsored by Coca Cola. Both teams presented very strong presentations in an bid to get through to the next round of the competition.

Each presentation had it's own strengths and it was one of our College's core values that solved the problem of which team should go through.... 'neither'..... the solution was to combine both ideas and for team members to 'co-operate' in creating an idea that drew on the strengths of both presentations. The result was a healthy fruit drink called 'The Sting', a silk, smooth drink with a 'chilli' kick. The students must now wait for news from Coca Cola to see if their idea is a winner.

YEAR LEADER "DROP IN SURGERIES” Year Learning Leader "Drop In Surgeries" will be run on the following times and dates: Year 9 - Friday 13 December 2013 between 9.00 am and 10.30 am with Mrs Moulsdale Year 11 - Tuesday 7 January 2014 between 2.00 pm and 3.00 pm with Mrs Williams Year 10 - Thursday 9 January 2014 between 12.00 noon and 1.00 pm with Mrs Remfry Year 12/13– Thursday 30 January 2014 between 8am– 9:30am with Mr Howells and Mrs Garvey 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.

E PARENTS FOCUS GROUP A group of parents have volunteered to be members of the Principal’s E Parents Focus Group. Please let us know here if you would be available and prepared to join the group. The role is not too onerous – just to respond periodically to some key questions about college development or standards. Existing members are invited to confirm that you wish to continue.

CHILDRENS TAKEOVER DAY Many thanks to all parents, relatives and friends of families who allowed the 104 students of Year 10 and Year 11 to experience Children's Takeover Day on Thursday 21 November. We have received many positive reports and the students who participated all appear to have had a worthwhile experience. If a student had a photo taken of them in the workplace please can this be emailed to Mr Blades in College so we can add them to our website

ATTENDANCE MATTERS 97.00%

Over the last week of College attendance was as follows: Year 7 - 96.6% (down 0.6% on the previous week) Year 8 - 94.9% (up 0.2% - well done Year 8) Year 9 - 95.7% (down 1.1%) Year 10 - 94.8% (up 2.3% - well done Year 10) Year 11 - 92.0% (up 0.8 % - well done Year 11) Year 12: - 95.08% Year 13:- 95.62%

96.00%

95.00% 94.00% 93.00%

92.00% 91.00% 90.00%

89.00% YEAR 7

YEAR 8

YEAR 9

YEAR 10

YEAR 11

The average for the week is 94.8% (up from 94.5% last week). Since 3rd September attendance is still 95.9%. We aim for 97%. Last week GIRLS attendance has increased to 94.7%, BOYS attendance has decreased to 95.0%. Since 3rd September boys are still winning girls 96.3% to 95.4%.

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

Holiday absence from College Holidays will not be authorised from 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 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.

CALENDAR

Term

College Opens to Students

College Closes to Students

Christmas

Monday 28 October 2013

Thursday 19 December 2013

Epiphany

Monday 6 January 2014

Friday 14 February 2014

Easter

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Friday 4 April 2014

Whitsun

Wednesday 23 April 2014

Thursday 22 May 2014

Trinity

Monday 2 June 2014

Tuesday 22 July 2014

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.

Monday 24 February 2014 Tuesday 25 February 2014 Tuesday 22 April 2014 Friday 23 May 2014 Wednesday 23 July 2014

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 11 Writing 2 Speaking 1 Speaking 2

11y Thursday 16 January 11g Tuesday 21 January Monday/Tuesday 9/10 December Thursday and Monday 13/17 March

Year 10 Writing 1 Writing 2 Speaking 1 Speaking 2

10y Tuesday 10 December 10g Thursday 12 December 10y Tuesday 6 May 10g Thursday 8 May Tuesday/Wednesday 10/11 March Thursday/Friday 3 /4 July

Year 9 Speaking

Tuesday/Wednesday 8/9 July

CHINA VISIT November saw a surprise opportunity for me to visit China and continue the excellent work already started in 2010 with our partner school, the Xi'an 85 Middle School. Using funding granted by the British Council, myself and two other Cheshire teachers were able to spend a day in Beijing and then five days in, the former historical capital, Xi'an.

This was a unique and eye opening experience for me especially as I had previously taught about the development of China during the 20th Century and had focused on the impact of Chairman Mao and Deng Xiao Ping. On the first day, and within an hour of landing at Beijing airport, I was walking around Tiananmen Square and having my picture taken with the Gates of Heavenly Peace and Mao's famous portrait in the back ground. Then it was a whistle stop visit to Mao's mausoleum where stopping for photographs or even to digest one’s surroundings is clearly not allowed.

After site-seeing came work and I spent a week working in the Xi'an 85 Middle school both negotiating a visit for their teachers in July, but also an extended visit by their students when they come over in October of 2014, this time hopefully spending three days with our families rather than just one night. The hope is that we can foster long lasting friendships and that our students and the students from Xi'an will develop their skills of their respective languages.

And it won’t be all one way traffic. Part of my task was to find accommodation and sites for our students when we visit Xi'an - although hotel costs and flight costs may mean that this has to wait a few more months.

The surprising thing that struck me most about my visit was how similar Chinese students are to our students. I was allowed to both speak to students in lessons, but also to interact with them at lunch time and I found their intelligence, diligence, and their overall sweetness reminded me so much of our students. I was treated to a visit to their school's mini United Nations society in which they discuss many of the topics of the day. And whilst I couldn't always keep quiet I was able to hear excellent linguistic skills and intelligent responses which would be mirrored by our students and which makes the development of interaction so vital for both schools.

All in all, a tiring, but exciting trip which we are determined will have long term benefits for both communities.

CHRISTMAS TERM MONDAY 28 OCTOBER 2013 TO THURSDAY 19 DECEMBER 2013 Monday 2 - Friday 13 December, Assessment weeks for Students Friday 6 December 6pm, PTA Disco Year 7 and 8 Thursday 12 December 7:30pm All Hallows Catholic College Carol Service St Albans Church Friday 13 December, PTA Christmas Party (details tbc) Wednesday 18 December 7– 9pm, Key Stage 4 and 5 Awards Evening– College Hall

CAFOD WORLD GIFTS World Gifts will delight your friends and family and make a huge difference to people in developing countries because they do something no pair of socks can ever do – they help people break free from poverty! This year World Gifts have over 30 gifts to choose from and to suit every kind of budget and ideas for every taste and age, from goats to greenhouses!

Please click on the link for more information

SENIOR MATHS CHALLENGE RESULTS

Year 13 Matthew Aidan Joseph Luke Matthew Thomas Francis Mark Laszlo Cyrus Sean Ria

Mcfahn Smith Harper Weaver Ford Healey Harkins Elkommos Zorenyi Oldham Hammond Hubbard

90 89 74 72 67 67 65 64 63 54 49 41

Pickup Massey Crossley Cumberland Corcoran Wanjau Jennings Powell Waite Robins Curley Burton Hallworth

80 75 71 66 63 62 61 57 56 51 49 43 37

GOLD

BEST IN SCHOOL

GOLD SILVER SILVER SILVER SILVER BRONZE BRONZE BRONZE BRONZE

Year 12 Harriet Hannah Jake Tristan Hannah Nathan Michael Lindsay Patrick Victoria Matthew Nathan Samuel

SILVER

BEST IN YEAR

SILVER SILVER BRONZE BRONZE BRONZE BRONZE BRONZE BRONZE

PARENTS AS PARTNERS: E-SAFETY ADVICE FOR STUDENTS Online Reputation Checklist Your digital footprint is the mark that you leave behind when using the internet and can shape your online reputation. Your digital footprints can be positive or negative and shape how people see you now or in the future. Use our simple checklist to help manage and maintain your online reputation.

Search yourself online: do you know what is online about you? Do a simple web search of your name and see what you can find and. If you find something you aren’t happy with, take the necessary steps to get that content removed. Remember, if your Facebook or Twitter pages appear you can change this by adjusting your privacy settings.

Check privacy settings: make sure you know what information you are sharing on the websites you use, in particular on social networking sites. Most social networking sites have privacy settings to help you manage the content you share and who you share it with; you can decide if you want your posts to be shared with your online friends and followers only or with the public. Keep in mind that your friend’s content and their settings can also affect your digital footprint.

Think before you post: before you post that funny picture of your friend, or make that joke about someone on Twitter, ask yourself do you want everyone to see it; friends, family, grandparents, future employers? Would you be happy for others to post that type of content about you? You should be proud of everything you post online, remember once it is online it could potentially be there forever!

Deactivate and delete: when you stop using a social networking profile or website, it’s a good idea to deactivate or delete your account. This will mean the content is no longer live and should not be searchable online; it will also remove the risk of these accounts being hacked without you knowing.

Make a positive footprint: we hear a lot about the negative footprints left behind online. The best way to keep your online reputation in check is to use your time online to get creative and create a positive footprint. For example why not write a blog to promote all the great things you are doing, fundraise for a charity using an online sponsorship page or create a video to teach others something new?

PARENTS AS PARTNERS: HEALTH AND WELL BEING People assume that once they come to secondary school the days of having head lice are over! Unfortunately this is not true. It is still important to have periodic checks of your child's hair to ensure that they have not picked up any of these little visitors (younger siblings are often the source and will readily share them!).

Hair should be checked when wet and ideally with a good coating of conditioner since this helps to keep the lice still.

Hair then needs to be combed from the root to the tip using a louse comb. If any live lice are found you should visit the chemist to ask for an appropriate lotion and ensure all other members of your close family and friends are checked too!

The facts • anyone can catch head lice regardless of their age, sex, or how clean their hair is • head lice move from one person's head to another via hair • head lice do not survive long when they are off a human head • head lice do not live on furniture, hats, bedding or carpet • head lice have built up some resistance to head lice treatments Persistence and vigilance give the best chance of eradication therefore • regularly check your children's hair • teach older children to check their own hair • tie back and braid long hair • keep a fine tooth head lice comb in the bathroom and encourage all family members to use it when they wash their hair.

Please contact the school nurse Julie Jones if you need any further help or advice nurse@allhallows.org