Newsletter 13 12 2013

All Hallows Catholic College Newsletter Christmas Term

Friday 13th December 2013

COMMUNITY MASS

EXAMS

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

Please be advised that the following GCE/GCSE exams will be taking place on the above date.

Friday 23/05/14 INSET DAY EXAMS

GCE (AS) CHEM1 GCE (AS) DRAM1

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK

GCE (AS) 6RS02

Advent Prayer Grant, almighty God, that looking forward in faith to the feast of our Lord's birth, we may feel all the happiness our Saviour brings, and celebrate his coming with unfailing joy. in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

GCSE (Year 11) History Unit 2

ECO FACT Check out your hot water tank, if it is fitted with an insulating jacket, it will save you money. An insulating jacket only costs around £10 and pays for itself within months. Fit one that’s at least 75mm (3in) thick to save the most energy and money – around £10 - £15 every year.

PARENTS AS PARTNERS – SAFE FOOTWEAR As the weather takes a turn for the worse, here is a reminder of our uniform policy with regards to footwear. Footwear should be black shoes, not trainers. Female students should not wear any heels greater than one inch. The ballet style shoes some of our female students are wearing are not suitable for all-day wear and are certainly not robust enough for the weather we experience at this time of year. Fabric shoes, pumps or boots are also not acceptable. We welcome the support of our parents in ensuring our students are dressed correctly

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. Exam Results Days - August 2014 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 As part of the faculty's commitment to language learning students are given the chance to learn yet another language! Miss Skulova has been successfully running Italian Club on a Tuesday break time for some time.

Students have had the opportunity to learn; greetings, introductions -names, (countries, nationalities), Italian gestures - these were highly popular! hobbies, likes and dislikes, description of people, colours, numbers, family - members and developing intercultural understanding such as learning how to sing Silent Night in Italian, one student, Josh Mock, is bringing his cello next week so will celebrate Christmas with music and chocolates!

Congratulations to Emma Archer in particular who hopes to take her GCSE in Italian in Summer 2014

YEAR LEADER "DROP IN SURGERIES” Year Learning Leader "Drop In Surgeries" will be run on the following times and dates: 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.

CHRISTMAS TERM MONDAY 28 OCTOBER 2013 TO THURSDAY 19 DECEMBER 2013 Wednesday 18 December 7– 9pm, Key Stage 4 and 5 Awards Evening– College Hall YEAR 11 PARENTS EVENING 16th January 2014, 5pm - 7.30pm On line booking for this event is now available through the College website. Please go to "For Parents>Parental Gateway". For problems with log-in please contact the College on 01625 426138/01625 410287. The College hopes to see all parents/students in Year 11 as we consider this an essential aspect of home-school partnership. As a College event, students are expected to attend in full College uniform.

ATTENDANCE MATTERS

97.00%

Over the last week of College attendance was as follows: Year 7 - 96.6% (no change on the previous week) Year 8 - 95.2% (up 0.3% - well done Year 8) Year 9 - 93.8% (down 1.9%) Year 10 - 92.9% (down 1.9%) Year 11 - 91.4% (down 0.6 %) Year 12- 94.95% Year 13- 95.44%

96.00% 95.00% 94.00% 93.00% 92.00% 91.00% 90.00% 89.00%

88.00% YEAR 7

YEAR 8

YEAR 9

YEAR 10 YEAR 11 Year 12

Year 13

This was not a very good week for Years 9-11, our Key Stage 4 students!. Parents are reminded to speak to their children about the importance of catching up work missed. The average for the week is 94.0% (down from 94.8% last week). Since 3rd September attendance has dropped 0.2% to 95.7%. We aim for 97%.

Last week GIRLS attendance has decreased 0.7% to 94.0%, BOYS attendance has decreased 1.0% to 94.0%. Since 3rd September boys are still winning girls 96.1% to 95.3%.

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 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 ÂŁ60 per parent / carer per student, to be paid within 21 days, otherwise the penalty will rise to ÂŁ120 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

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 2

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

Year 10 Writing 2 Speaking 1 Speaking 2

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

RECOMMENDED READS I Funny: A Middle School Story - I Funny Series 1 by James Patterson “Have you ever done something extremely stupid like, oh, I don’t know, try to make a room filled with total strangers laugh until their sides hurt?

Totally dumb, right? |Jamie Grimm is a middle schooler on a mission: he wants to become the world's greatest stand-up comedian - even if he always seems to 'choke' in the spotlight. When Jamie finds out about a contest called the Funniest Kid on the Planet, he knows it's time to face his fears and enter.

This is highly illustrated book that's as heartfelt as it is hilarious.

The Treasure House by Linda Newbery When Nina's mother, Miranda, mysteriously disappears, Nina's father goes to look for her, leaving Nina with her two eccentric aunts who run a charity shop in town. Nina soon discovers that working in the shop can be funny, intriguing and rewarding as she takes in weird and wonderful donations, makes new friends and uncovers strange secrets! But Nina is determined to solve the mysteries that have taken over her life - where has her mother gone? Why did she leave so suddenly? And just what is the secret she's been hiding?

LOCAL HERO AWARDS 2013 Acts of courage, special achievements and community champions were all celebrated as part of the Local Hero Awards held at the Tytherington Club on the evening of Thursday 28 November. A packed auditorium learned about some truly selfless acts as part of the awards, hosted by Cheshire radio station Silk 106.9 and supported by Cheshire East Council The Teacher of the Year award went jointly to All Hallows staff - Mrs. L Remfrey and Mrs. G Holmes. The duo’s nominator describes them as going ‘above and beyond ‘what might be expected of a teacher, encouraging one pupil to achieve despite adversity’.

A big ‘All Hallows’ congratulations to you both.

The All Hallows Catholic College Social Enterprise Of The Year Award which recognises businesses with a social conscience went to Andy Lomas.Andy is Dane Housing’s neighbourhood director, whose nominator describes his attitude as ‘first rate’ and actions as ‘way above what might have been expected’ when helping a Dane Plus Housing tenant. He makes life much more tolerable for the majority of tenants.

CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY EPIPHANY 6 JANUARY 2014

Students and staff are invited to donate 50p to our India appeal and wear their Christmas jumper on the Feast of the Epiphany on the 6 January 2014

CAN ANY FAMILIES HELP? We have received a request from an Italian family about their son who would like to spend 3 months with us in early 2014 and study at our College. His name is Nathan Martignoni and he would be in our Year 11. His aunt, who lives locally, was going to care for him, bur sadly this has fallen through. His mother has asked if any of our parents would be able to accommodate him for his time in the UK. His family are willing to pay up to 400Euros per month for his lodgings. If you can help please do get in touch with Mr Blades before the Christmas break for more details.