All Hallows Catholic College Newsletter Christmas Term
Friday 22nd November 2013
COMMUNITY MASS is held in All Hallows Chapel every Friday 9am-9.45am Parents/Carers/Parishioners are all welcome
PRAYER FOR THE WEEK Prayer for Youth Sunday
PARENTS AS PARTNERS: BIG THANKYOU TO PARENTS OF STUDENTS IN Y7 AND Y9
May our Lord bless and protect our young people, our children. May He always guide and protect them so that they will not fall into danger. May He protect their steps, their studies, their play, and their travels. May the Holy Spirit guide their minds and their hearts, so they grow in knowledge and wisdom. May Jesus stand as their light and way of life, with His gospel as their guide. May they always be mindful of their baptismal commitment and their place in the community of faith – the Holy Church. May their parents and the adults in their lives be right and worthy examples of Christian life. We ask all this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our parental engagement figures for the Parents Consultation Meetings were:
HOMESTUDY ONLINE PROBLEM
With similar Home-Study or work placement arrangements for all years. On this date parents of students in Y8 and Y10 attend appointments with their children. More details and reminders will follow shortly.
Apologies to those parents & students affected by the issue on the website preventing students from logging in first thing on Thursday 21 November. Our service provider repaired the fault at their end and it was running correctly by 10:15am.
Y7 93% with only 15 families not making appointments and Y9 90% with only 22 families not making appointments This makes our new style parental consultation days a huge success taking the levels of engagement up to record levels for both years. Early indications from feedback are very positive with parents reporting that they've had high quality conversations with teachers and a better idea of how to support their child. We are very grateful for your support with this new initiative, which we know will have a very positive impact on your child(rens) learning and progress. The next Parent Consultation Day is Year 8 and 10 from 9.00am to 7.00pm on Thursday 30 January 2014
On line bookings will be open from mid December 2013
SPECIALISM SUCCESS OF THE WEEK Congratulations to GCSE French student Niamh Matthews McDonald in year 11 who has the highest score on the website www.vocabexpress.com achieving 2,865 points in less than a week! (FW)
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.
PRINCIPAL’S SURGERY Parents / Carers are invited to attend a Principal's Surgery to discuss any concerns or ask questions, on the following dates Tuesday 3 December, 3.30pm - 4.30pm There is no appointment system so please be prepared to wait
ECO FACTS AND TIPS If all the UK’s cavity walls were insulated tomorrow, we’d save over £670 million worth of energy every week. We’d also save 9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere.
FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING All are invited this Sunday November 24 at 6.30 pm to the Youth Mass led by students and staff of All Hallows and the St. Alban's music ministry to celebrate the Feast of Christ the King at St. Alban's RC Church, Macclesfield.
ATTENDANCE MATTERS 98.00%
Year 7 - 97.6% (up 1.1% on the previous week)
97.00% 96.00%
95.00%
Year 8 - 96.7% (down 0.9%)
94.00%
Year 9 - 96.7% (down 0.5%)
93.00%
92.00%
Year 10 - 94.8% (down 0.3%)
91.00%
Year 11 - 93.1% (down 0.4 %)
90.00% YEAR 7
YEAR 8
YEAR 9
YEAR 10
YEAR 11
The average for the week is 95.7% (down from 95.9% last week). Since 3rd September attendance is 95.9%. We aim for 97%. Last week GIRLS attendance has increased to 95.8%, BOYS attendance has decreased to 95.6%. Since 3rd September boys are still winning girls 96.4% to 95.5%, but the gap is closing. 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. 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
RECOMMENDED READS Little Love Song by Michelle Magorian A magical summer of love and war is the catalyst that changes Rose from an uncertain, gawky schoolgirl into a confident and assured woman. This love story is written by the author of "Goodnight Mister Tom".
THE ALCHEMYST by Michael Scott Sophie and Josh Newman are twins who are staying in San Francisco during the summer while their parents are on an archaeological dig. Josh has a job at a small bookshop, Sophie works in a coffee shop directly across the road. On May 31st, their life changes forever as they are drawn into a battle that has been going on for more than a lifetime. For Josh's boss, Nick Fleming, is really Nicholas Flamel, the famous alchemyst who discovered the secret to eternal life. For centuries, Nicholas has been guarding the sacred book The Book of Abraham the Mage, as this book enables him and his wife to stay youthful, but also because the power it contains could destroy the world if in the wrong hands. For years, Dr. John Dee has been trying to steal this book, and on May 31st, he does just that. Now nothing will ever be the same again.
CHRISTMAS TERM MONDAY 28 OCTOBER 2013 TO THURSDAY 19 DECEMBER 2013 Thursday 28 November, Year 7 Sex and Relationship Education Evening 7– 8pm (Information on curriculum for Parents) 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
Carols by Candlelight St Alban’s parish are holding a Carols by Candlelight service on Saturday 21st December at 5pm in church. All very welcome. We are looking for readers to lead the 6 readings for the service and there will be a list up at the back of church for any interested students to sign up to if they would like to help with this. Singers also welcome to join in on the evening. For further details please contact Natalie Nye: 421603.
