Highfields Newsletter Issue 36

Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Highfields School Newsletter Newsletter

2019-20

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Our newsletter aims to keep parents and carers up to date with key information during this time.

Our website (www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk) is regularly updated with news and the latest information. We will also continue to email out any news to parents/carers.

Thank you for your continued support.

A Marsh Headteacher

Be the best you can

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter

Contents: Message from the headteacher ....................................................................................... 3 Updates for Parents/Carers ............................................................................................. 6       

Mobile Devices .................................................................................................................... 6 Year 10 Work Experience Cancellation .................................................................................. 6 Message from Heads of Year 7 ............................................................................................. 7 Action required - HPV Vaccination sessions: Year 8 boys and girls and Year 9 girls only ............ 7 Welcome to new sixth form year manager ........................................................................... 10 UKMT Junior Mathematical Challenge 2020.......................................................................... 10 Derbyshire County Council - summer adult education now online and FREE............................ 10

Shout Outs! ................................................................................................................. 11 Highfields Virtual Learning Studio .................................................................................. 13 Parents/carers of current year 6 students ...................................................................... 30 

Year 6 Transition Programme ............................................................................................. 30 Year 7 booklet, map quiz and anagram challenge ........................................................... 30 Derbyshire County Council school dinners ...................................................................... 31 Year 7 activity day induction programme........................................................................ 31 ‘Pyramid worries’ and ‘all about me’ ............................................................................... 32 Geography on a plate activity ........................................................................................ 32 Pastoral profiles ........................................................................................................... 32 Starkholmes virtual tour................................................................................................ 32 Friendship cards........................................................................................................... 33 Year 6 Transition timetable ........................................................................................... 33 Highfields School Uniform – September 2020....................................................................... 34 Highfields morning assemblies............................................................................................ 34 Year 7 PowerPoints and student magazine .......................................................................... 34 September 2020 – Transport to school for year 6 parents/carers ........................................... 35

o o o o o o o o o    

Careers, College & Apprenticeship News ........................................................................ 36      

Resources......................................................................................................................... 36 Careers inspiration and advice from BBC Bitesize ................................................................. 36 Online careers programme for 11-18 year olds .................................................................... 36 Chesterfield College ........................................................................................................... 36 Free Speakers for Schools Virtual Work Experience Programme for students .......................... 37 Paragon Skills Apprenticeships............................................................................................ 38

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Mental wellbeing in children and young people – what about the boys? ................................. 39 SEN & Leadership Programme – Blended Netball from England Netball .................................. 39 Badminton England ........................................................................................................... 39 ‘I Can I Am’ Completion ..................................................................................................... 40 England Netball Covid-19 guidelines.................................................................................... 40 Standing long jump ........................................................................................................... 41 Sports activity challenges: Week 8 - Boccia ......................................................................... 42

Sports Update .............................................................................................................. 39

Alternative activities to try during time at home ............................................................. 43   

Maths – Symmetry ‘Let’s Face It’ ........................................................................................ 43 Film Studies ...................................................................................................................... 44 Speakers for Schools virtual talks ........................................................................................ 44

Competitions ................................................................................................................ 46  

BBC Young Composer 2020 competition .............................................................................. 46 Competition: a vision for life after Covid-19 ......................................................................... 46

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Y7 and Y8 Science Competition .......................................................................................... 47 Joined Up Careers Derbyshire competition to celebrate our health and social care heroes through creative art ....................................................................................................................... 48

Keeping Highfields reading: how to access free books .................................................... 49 Updates and Reminders for Students ............................................................................. 50       

Year 11 Frequently Asked Questions: Sixth Form Entry ........................................................ 50 Qualifications and Exams: Years 11 and 13 students ........................................................... 51 School to home communication .......................................................................................... 52 Communication with teachers............................................................................................. 52 Show My Homework online homework submission guidance ................................................. 52 Shout Outs ....................................................................................................................... 52 Free Microsoft Office for Students ....................................................................................... 52

Learning at home ......................................................................................................... 53        

Years 7-10 school timetable ............................................................................................... 53 Year 11 work to help you into year 12................................................................................. 53 Year 12 school timetable .................................................................................................... 54 Y11 and Y13 – Suggestions for making best use of time ....................................................... 54 Higher Education information ............................................................................................. 55 Parents/carers can help ..................................................................................................... 57 Resources for Highfields students learning from home .......................................................... 58 Study Boost Loughborough University ................................................................................. 59

Parents/carers – support and advice .............................................................................. 60          

Help & Support information ................................................................................................ 60 Free School Meals National Voucher Scheme and Universal Credit ......................................... 60 ‘We Are Highfields Fund’ 2020 ............................................................................................ 60 Highfields Emergency Childcare .......................................................................................... 61 Derbyshire County Council Advice on COVID-19 for Parents/Carers ....................................... 62 Online Prescription Delivery ................................................................................................ 63 SV2: Supporting victims of Sexual Violence Web Chat on line Forum - July ............................. 64 Food supplies .................................................................................................................... 64 10 top tips from the Highfields Cluster Family Support Team ................................................ 65 Helping children and young people to manage anxiety ......................................................... 65

Useful contact numbers ................................................................................................ 66 Local support available for parents/carers ...................................................................... 67 Highfields School Contact details ................................................................................... 78 Key Staff for 2019-20 ................................................................................................... 79 Highfields School Governing Board 2019-20 ................................................................... 80 Highfields Uniform - September 2020 ............................................................................ 81 2019-20 / 2020-21 academic year ................................................................................. 82

Disclaimer: Highfields School is not responsible for the quality of products or organisations publicised through articles or advertisements in the school newsletter.

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Message from the headteacher As you may know, during this crisis we have been providing regular informal updates through email and assemblies and reserving this page for formal updates.

Changes for September We are making every effort to communicate with you about September. Currently we are awaiting guidance from the Department for Education on how logistics may look. As soon as we have absorbed this guidance we will advise on how it may affect children and families.

Governors and the senior team are very keen that Covid-19 will not disrupt our improvement plans any more than is absolutely unavoidable. This is because we care very much about our students and their education. We will, therefore, be moving forward with many of the plans that we spent some time forming before this crisis took hold and will communicate any changes to policy in full.

Family feedback would suggest that our community is stronger than ever before and so we feel cautiously optimistic that you will assume positive intent and support our policies because you appreciate that they have been carefully and thoughtfully planned.

We are never complacent but feedback like that below is very encouraging for staff and governors:

“Firstly just want to say thank you to you & your staff for all the assemblies that you have done & continue to do. They’re great and start the day off on a good footing. On a private note thank you to ALL [child]’s teaching staff for their help and support during this time, the quick responses he gets on SMHW is fantastic, you have a great team of teachers & it is much appreciated. I don’t like to pin point staff out as they’ve all been amazing to [child] throughout this but I’ve just got to say the way [teacher] & [teacher] set their school work out, the support, encouragement, personal touches on SMHW is exceptional and I didn’t want this to go unnoticed or unrecognised. Also the Zoom lesson for PE was a great idea, great for interaction. I do think Zoom lessons are the way forward if the situation permits. Anyway a big thank you to you all & it is much appreciated by [family members].

As you say ‘we are Highfields!’ Kind regards, [Parent]” Social distancing Please check with your child that they understand their responsibility to avoid large crowds. Events where very significant groups of local young people gathered recently in Chatsworth are being investigated by police. Very often someone at these events videos them…

Wider reopening of school Over the last week our continued phased reopening for Y10 and 12 students has been very successful.

If you signed up for this and your child is involved you will have received guidance which should be read and observed. Given the controlled circumstances, any child who arrives on site whose attendance has not been agreed will be sent home immediately.

Currently, students are on site at our discretion. In the unlikely event that student behaviour threatens student or staff morale/wellbeing they will be warned and then sent home. Safety and wellbeing, naturally, underpin our approach.

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter CPD Day Friday 3 July 2020 Continued professional development days are a professional entitlement of staff and this day has been scheduled as a training day since this time last year. As it happens this year, it is more important than ever that we take a day to plan our further response to and recovery from this crisis. Teachers will be providing open ended activities for students on Friday 3 July (as requested by families), but will not be allowed to respond to student emails, mark work or offer feedback as I need them to spend the day focusing on and being involved in planning or training activities. Governors this Thursday will be briefed on the draft improvement plan for 2020-21 which leaders have subtitled our ‘bounce back Big 3’. When it is completed it will be shared with families.

Assemblies Please continue to send shout outs regarding children’s achievements, runs, music, cooking, pets to wearehighfields@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk We are Highfields.

A Marsh Headteacher

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Updates for Parents/Carers Mobile Devices Had Covid-19 not closed the school we were intending to extend our ‘no mobile phones’ policy from lower to upper site in term 6, a move which would have brought in line with most schools locally and nationally who have a similar approach. Governors ratified this decision in their February Full Governing Board meeting.

As it happens, Covid-19 itself has only strengthened our belief that school does not need to further extend the time that students spend looking at screens. During the school day we want our students to benefit from what school has to offer. We want students to socially interact face to face with their peers and get involved with any activities that the school has to offer whether that be kicking about a football, playing tag (on lower site!), playing board games, joining a club or catching up on work.

So from September students will not be allowed to use their mobile phone when on lower OR upper school site unless it is in line with our policy. Students will be briefed on the policy and you can find details in our FAQ document attached.

We recognise that many parents and carers wish their children to carry a mobile phone for their personal safety and for that reason we do not plan to ban them from our school sites. During the school day the expectation will be that mobile phones will be switched off and in their bag / locker. As in previous policies, the school accepts no responsibility for any phones brought onto site and students are reminded to look after high value items of property very carefully if they are brought into school.

Full details have been emailed to parents/carers today along with a FAQ information sheet. To answer any questions you may have. However, if after reading the FAQs you have further questions please email Mr Hodkin (mhodkin@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk) We thank you for your continued support in ensuring that children feel happy and included at Highfields School.

Year 10 Work Experience Cancellation As you know due to the unfortunate circumstances caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic Y10 work experience had to be cancelled.

Mrs Giles, the schools work experience coordinator, has been contacting as many employers as possible to ensure that they know that work experience is cancelled. However, we thought it would be a good idea if students could also get in touch with the employers who kindly offered a placement to explain that they will not be attending and to thank them for initially offering the place.

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Message from Heads of Year 7 Thank you all for the incredible support you have shown us since the school closure began at the end of March. We have all had to adapt to a new way of distance learning, which would not have been a success without the time, effort and resilience shown by our students and parents/carers. The quality of work has been outstanding and I would like to urge you all to try and continue with this for the next few weeks as we approach the summer holidays.

Unbelievably, your child has now almost completed their first year at Highfields School. Despite the strange circumstances, we do hope that they have been happy and can look back on their time in year 7 with positive memories and proud achievements. We have very much enjoyed getting to know you all this year and feel that you have all done a wonderful job in terms of making a smooth transition to secondary school.

Over the summer you may well be buying new items of school clothing for your son/daughter - please ensure you check our new school uniform policy and acceptable school wear that has been issued and is available on the school website and remember to name all uniform.

We would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that it is important that students attend school, so please avoid taking family holidays during term time.

It has been an absolute pleasure to be your Head of Year at Highfields and we are confident that the next year will be just as successful. We would like to take this opportunity to introduce your child’s new Head of Year, Mr Redhead, and Year Manager, Mr Tidmarsh, from September who will lead them into year 8 and through until year 11. As part of a gradual process of transition, they will be starting to share videos and messages with you over the next few weeks. If you child is currently in contact with a key person during this time, this will not change and will continue to the end of this year.

Mrs Hollinrake and Mrs Redhead Heads of Year 7

Action Required HPV Vaccination sessions: Year 8 boys and girls and Year 9 girls only As you are aware, due to the unprecedented times we find ourselves in, the Immunisation Team have had to review their service. The team are utilising different methods to ensure that they are able to deliver this vital service in a timely and safe manner for your child and their staff. With this in mind further drive through sessions have been arranged in the area.

Please note, the Immunisation Team are able to accommodate people on foot at ALL drive through clinics and they are adding clinics regularly - please check back on the booking system if you can’t find your preferred site.

Sessions available at: Walton Hospital, Chesterfield – Drive through Long Eaton – Drive through Ripley Leisure Centre – Drive through Rolls Royce, Derby – Drive through Heritage High School, Clowne – Drive through

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Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Glossopdale School, Glossop – Drive through Ashbourne Speedway, Ashbourne – Drive through Babington Hospital, Belper – Drive through Ilkeston Hospital, Charnos Hall – Walk in only Newholme Hospital, Bakewell – Drive through Netherthorpe School, Staveley – Drive through Allestree Woodlands School – Drive through Da Vinci Academy, Derby – Drive through Date:

June, July and August 2020

Time:

9.30am to 3.00pm

THESE ARE PRE-BOOKABLE APPOINTMENT SLOTS ONLY, PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND WITHOUT AN APPOINTMENT How to book an appointment Complete a consent form HPV Vaccination drive through session - Year 8 boys and girls, and Year 9 girls only.

The Immunisation Team already have consent forms for Year 9 girls; please only complete a consent form if you haven’t already done so for Year 8 girls and boys.

Please visit https://www.derbyshireandcityimms.co.uk/Forms/HPV to complete the consent form.

The option to consent or decline the vaccination is at the end of the questionnaire so please complete even if you do not want your child to have the vaccination.

Your unique school code for Highfields School is DD112950 If you experience any problems please call the School Age Immunisation Team.

DCHST.immunisationteam@nhs.net Repton: 01283 707178 Clay Cross: 01246 252953 Please book an appointment with your child’s name and date of birth by following this link: https://www.swiftqueue.co.uk/derbyshire.php Only book an appointment if your child hasn’t completed their HPV 2 dose course.

If you experience any difficulties please call: Repton: 01283 707178 or Clay Cross: 01246 252953 Please do not attend if you, your child or anyone within your family home is displaying signs of being unwell.

General information about COVID 19 If your child develops symptoms of Covid-19 (raised temperature, new continuous cough, loss or change of taste/smell), you should contact 111.

More information can be found at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact the Immunisation Team on the contact telephone numbers above.

Or visit http://www.derbyshireschoolnurses.org.uk/parents/immunisations/drive-through-clinic-faq for drive trough questions and answers.

What do I need to do?    

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Book an appointment and complete a consent form online, discuss the appointment with your child before they come so they know what to expect.

Ensure they have had a snack and bring a drink with them, particularly on a warm day.

Staff on site will be wearing personal protective equipment (see inset). Please make sure your child is aware of this, as it can be quite intimidating for children Whilst you attend the drive through the child will be your responsibility. You will be allowed to leave the site straight away if your child remains well after the vaccination. If you think they may feel unwell afterwards consider bringing a sick bag and tissues.

They should wear a short sleeved top so the nurse can easily access the top of their arm If possible do not bring other family members along in the car.

There will be no toileting facilities available on site so please make sure they use the bathroom before leaving home. The NHS team do not anticipate you being on site for more than 10 minutes

What will happen on the day?       

Please ensure you have an appointment and don’t arrive any earlier than your specified time slot or you may end up waiting longer than necessary.

When you arrive a marshal will guide you to the relevant queue, there may be 1 or 2 lanes. If you have driven please STAY IN YOUR CAR, your child will be asked to sit in the rear seat if possible. TURN OFF YOUR ENGINE AND APPLY HANDBRAKE WHEN STATIONARY. Your child’s details will be checked to ensure you have an appointment and valid consent form.

You will then be asked to pull forward to the nurse, who will be wearing personal protective equipment The nurse will deliver the vaccine into the top of your child’s arm.

If your child is well you will be able to drive off when instructed.

If your child feels unwell afterwards you will be directed to another area where a nurse can assess your child further.

Possible side-effects: Localised reaction at the site of the injection – pain, redness or swelling.

Your child may also develop a headache, mild fever, dizziness or sickness. Paracetamol can be taken as prescribed unless contraindicated. Please contact 111 for advice if concerned.

Be the best you can

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Welcome to new sixth form year manager We are really pleased to welcome Rachel Sargeant to the staff team, as the new year manager for the sixth form. Rachel has a wealth of experience, having been a secondary school teacher for many years, and knows Highfields well, through a sports coordinator role she has had at All Saints and through being on the PTA. She is already making a real difference to the online resources we are able to provide, and she is getting to know students as and when they are able to come into school.

Do feel free to get in touch with her about sixth form matters via email: (rsargeant@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk).

Thank you for everyone who has had the chance to make her feel welcome - it's a slightly strange time to start a new job!

UKMT Junior Mathematical Challenge 2020 The UKMT have made it possible to sit the Junior Mathematical Challenge 2020 online so, on Friday 26 June 30 Highfields students from year 7 and year 8 will be taking part in the UKMT Junior Mathematical Challenge 2020.

The Junior Mathematical Challenge is a 60-minute, multiple-choice competition aimed at students across the UK. It encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems. The problems on the Junior Mathematical Challenge are designed to make students think. Most are accessible, yet still challenge those with more experience.

We wish all students taking part good luck!

Derbyshire County Council - summer adult education now online and FREE If you're looking to pick up a new skill or hobby, take a look at the adult education courses offered

by Derbyshire County Council that have moved online this summer.

Courses include interview skills, sign language, arts and crafts and many more.

All courses are free, some will be purely online learning and some will be delivered using Zoom so you can still feel part of the class.

To find a course and register please access the link below: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/derbyshire-adult-community-education-service-30423296698

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Highfields School

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Newsletter Shout Outs!

Staff have been sending in messages to let school know about the good work students are producing while they are learning from home and we wanted to share these with you.

Mathematicians of the week Congratulations to all the Highfields students who are still working hard and producing work of a very high standard. The students who have made a positive impression with the maths department this week are as follows.

Year 7: Melissa (7MB), Josh (7KSW), Matthew (7HC), Louis (7MB), Elliott (7CH), Thomas (7IR), Martha (7MWE), Lily (7CH), Emily (7JST), Freya (7HC), Thomas (7MB), Nia (7IR), Noah (7IR), Jake (7HC), Alfie (7MWE), Sergio (7IR), Tilly (7CH) and Georgina (7JST).

Year 8: Megan (8CC), Bethany (8ESW), David (8ESW), Harry (8CC), Molly (8LT), Isla (8LT), Archie (8LT), Will (8LT), Conrad (8LT), Daniel (8ESW), Evelyn (8GD), Conrad (8LT), Bailey (8GD), Abigail (8GD), Brad (8HB) and Kyra (8CC).

Year 9: Joe (9GPR), Lola (9GH), Esther (9RR), Nathan (9GPR), Harry (9EB), Tegan (9EB), Lucy (9GH), James (9GH), Lewis (9RR), Dylan (9RR) and Eleanor (9AM).

Year 10: Eden (10SA), Naomi (10WS), Ali (10AEB), Dan (10HC), Elliott (10RNS), Bryn (10HC), Will (10WS), Jess (10WS), Tamlyn (10AEB), Andrew (10AEB), Peter (10AEB), Lisa (10SA), Sam (10LB), Alana (10AEB), Emily (10RNS), Dylan (10HC), Jack (10HC), Ellie (10SA), Joe (10RNS), Freya (10AEB), Reece (10AEB), George (10SA), Charlotte (10KF), Phoebe (10LB), George (10LB), Louise (10AEB), Libby (10LB), Holly (10RNS), Emily (10LB), Jess (10RNS), Amy (10SA), Evie (10AEB), Amber (10HC), James (10WS), Charlie (10KF), Molly (10AEB), Holly (10RNS), Mckayla (10WS), Harvey (10AEB), Sally-Anne (10WS), Jack (10HC), Amelia (10HC), Oliver (10KF), Jack (10HC) and Josh (10SA).

Thank you so much for all your hard work. It is very much appreciated. Have a lovely weekend.

Music Mrs Harden, peripatetic woodwind teacher (Derby and Derbyshire Music Partnership), would like a shout out to Ruth (Y12) and tell the story of her musical journey.

Mrs Harden first met Ruth around 8 years ago when in a woodwind Wider Opportunities programme at a local primary school. Immediately Ruth stood out from the rest of her class with her musicality and obvious flair for the flute, but also for her kindness and willingness to help other class members who needed a bit of extra support. She was already having piano lessons and Mrs Harden had seen her perform in school assemblies a few times and was always captivated by how she became so absorbed in her performances.

At the end of the Wider Opportunities programme Ruth continued with flute lessons in a small group and went on to take her grade 1 before leaving primary school and scored a well-deserved Distinction. Over the years Ruth has gone from strength to strength with her flute and music and has steadily worked her way through grades scoring more Distinctions along the way. Outside of

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Highfields School

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Newsletter school she has been part of NEDMC for many years and is one of the flautists the younger members look up to and aspire to be. She is also a member of Derby & Derbyshire City and County Youth Wind Band one of the flagship county ensembles.

In March this year Ruth was meant to sit her Grade 8 on flute but it was cancelled late afternoon the day before she was due to take it because of Covid-19. Rather than let this disappointment get her down she took the option to transfer her exam it to the Digital Performance Assessment option on Trinity College exam board and has been awarded a Grade 8 Distinction on Flute.

Mrs Harden commented “I have had the privilege of being Ruth's flute teacher right from the first note and have watched her grow and grow with her music and I am so proud of her achievements”.

Well done to all Highfields students for the excellent commitment and dedication you are showing in all your subjects – keep up the good work and if you are struggling, remember you can always contact subject teachers or pastoral staff to ask for help.

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Newsletter Highfields Virtual Learning Studio

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Newsletter Parents/carers of current year 6 students Dear Year 6 Students and Parents/Carers Welcome to Highfields School! If you are reading this, then you must already be interested in our school and what we are doing.

"School" is very strange for all of us at the moment. We understand for students in year 6 it will be particularly odd and you might be wondering how you will get on with secondary school at Highfields.

All we wanted to say here is don't worry. We have certainly not forgotten you! Over this term we will be updating you on our plans on how we can best help you smoothly make the move to being a Highfields student. We have thought of all those issues and concerns you might have - what is the school like, how will I find my way around, how do I buy the uniform, what will happen with the buses?

We will keep updating everyone through the newsletter, but really specific messages will come from Mrs Green. She is the 'Year Manager' for year 7 and your first point of contact. Mrs Green has already been busy emailing information and electronic forms to parents/carers of our year 6 students. So, if your family haven't received an email from Mrs Green, please email her with your name and primary school so she can add you to our communication list and you will receive all future updates: tgreen@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk Take care and stay well.

Mr Rodgers Associate Assistant Headteacher

Year 7 students will start their Highfields journey on Wednesday 2 September 2020

Year 6 Transition Programme We hope you are enjoying your transition programme to Highfields and are finding the information we are sending useful – please see overleaf for the full timetable of transition activities.

Week 4 transition: Year 7 booklet, map quiz and anagram challenge This week we have sent out our Year 6 booklet for you to have a look through - we have also included a quiz for you to see how well you have read it! We have sent you a map of the school with an example timetable along with another quiz. Hopefully, this will help you learn your way around the school and familiarise yourself with the layout before September – remember you can revisit the Virtual Tour we issued previously to you to help.

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Highfields School

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Newsletter Finally we have an Anagram Challenge for you to do. Please return if you get LOADS of words so you can win a reward for your form in September.

Answers to the quiz will be sent to your parents/carers today (26 June) - we hope you have fun and enjoy doing the activities.

The Y6 booklet is also available on our website: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/InfoPDFs/Y6Booklet2020.pdf

Derbyshire County Council School Dinners Families have been emailed information regarding school dinners, including a current price list and items available to purchase (this is also displayed near the kitchen area for students to view while queuing), to give families an idea of the range of food available. Each week the latest menu is also included in the school newsletter.

A medical diet letter was also included in the communication. Please contact Mrs Green via email (tgreen@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk) if you require the medical diet form to ensure that DCC are able to cater for your child's school dinner.

Year 7 Activity Day Induction Programme We have issued information on our Year 7 Activity Day which is part of our Induction Programme and included a leaflet about this exciting day. There are two forms to be completed and returned.

The price includes a year group t-shirt to wear on the day. We would advise you pay for this as soon as our ParentPay information is sent to you (you should receive this by August). ParentPay gives you access to pay for trips and meals on line.

We are hopeful that this event will be able to go ahead. We walk there or walk back depending on the form group your child is in (we will let you have further information in September). Parents/carers either drop off or collect so there is no concern about social distancing. Lea Green have confirmed that they should be able to adapt the day to comply with this as well.

If your child has any special requirements as indicated on the form Special Diets 2020 please complete and return this to tgreen@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk Thank you for your assistance with the completions of these forms. We will be sending more later in the week!

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Highfields School

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Newsletter ‘Pyramid worries’ and ‘all about me’ Year 6 families should have received an email with two attachments – ‘pyramid worries’ and an ‘all about me’ activity.

Thank you for your ‘All about Me’ documents. We have enjoyed reading them and getting to know you. We will share this information with your form tutor.

The top concerns from you all were getting lost/bullying and too much homework and we will ensure that we reassure you about these in September and pass on to our Theatre Company. We intend to give you a really good tour of the school in September so please do not worry about getting lost.

If you haven’t yet returned the ‘all about me’ information, please can you send this to Mrs Green so your form tutors can start to get to know you ready for meeting you in September.

Geography on a plate activity Thank you to year 6s for your ‘geography on a plate’ activities.

We featured the ones received so far in last week’s newsletter – well done to you all!

This activity was to replicate what year 6 students would have done if they had been visiting Highfields as usual for their ‘taster lesson’. Look out for the next activity in July.

Pastoral profiles You will all be in receipt of the pastoral profiles we have emailed out. We hope this helps you start to remember names and put them to the faces of our year 7 team. We have sent out the ‘all about me’ documents for students to complete so we can find out all about you – we look forward to reading them and sharing with your form tutor.

Starkholmes virtual tour Our transition programme started with a virtual tour of our lower school site at Starkholmes to help our soon to be new year 7 students familiarise themselves with Highfields.

More ‘site’ information will be sent throughout this term to help you get to know Highfields.

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Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Friendship cards We have received your friendship cards and have been working through them all to fit students in form groups. Each form has a mixture of gender and ability, and although it is very difficult for us, we do try to ensure that year 7 students will be in a form class with at least one of the people that they wrote on their card. If for some reason this cannot happen, we will get in touch with parents/carers.

If you have not had an email from Mrs Green confirming your friend, please contact her on tgreen@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

Year 6 Transition timetable We are aiming to work to the basic timeline below for our transition programme, although it may change we wanted to provide you with a sense as to what might be possible this term in an effort to begin to cover some of the key activities we would usually complete with students and families.

Red denotes “transition” activities for students. Underlined items require a return.

Week commencing:

Information:

8 June 2020 (sent out) 15 June 2020 (sent out) 22 June 2020 (sent out)

Pyramid “worries” activity and “All About Me” (information about the children) Map quiz / anagram activity “Y7 Booklet” activity

1 June 2020 (sent out)

26 June 2020 29 June 2020 From 1 July 2020 6 July 2020 13 July 2020

Virtual site tour sent out; bus information On-going – “friendship cards” (this helps determine form groups) Uniform information sent out “Subject” activities sent out and pastoral staff profiles

Social media / consents / GDPR forms sent out “Hand” activity (information about the children) “Meet the tutor” – staff profiles, including key worker contact for relevant students Library / Accelerated reader activity “Subject” activities Pastoral staff pre-summer messages

From September, the transition programme will continue with some very focused ‘year 7’ time and activities will depend on what has been possible throughout the summer term.

We will keep in touch to make sure students have the best possible transition experience in this climate. Our priority remains that students feel part of our community and to allay as many worries as possible whilst beginning to outline our expectations. In this way, together we will be able to ensure that every student begins their Highfields journey as smoothly as possible.

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Highfields School Uniform – September 2020 You should be in receipt of details on Highfields school uniform previously emailed to you that included a letter, uniform code, FAQs, size guide and supplier information – see links below (this information is also available on the school website): Uniform Code: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/InfoPDFs/UniformCode.pdf FAQs: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/InfoPDFs/UniformFAQs.pdf.

Uniform supply list: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/InfoPDFs/UniformList.pdf Uniform size guide: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/InfoPDFs/UniformSizeGuide.pdf Families can apply for financial support with school uniform for September 2020 by completing the downloadable application form on our website (see links below): Pdf format: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/InfoPDFs/SchoolUniformApplicationGrant.pdf Word format: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/InfoPDFs/SchoolUniformApplicationGrant.doc This grant is considered on a case by case basis. Support will be paid in the form of a voucher which can be used either online with Kick Off Sport or in the shop. It can only be used to purchase Highfields School uniform. To be eligible you must be facing hardship through the changing circumstances brought about through Covid-19, receive Free School Meals or recommended by Highfields pastoral team. Completed forms should be returned to the finance office with any supporting documentation and will be checked for eligibility (finance@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk).

If, after reading the FAQs and details below, you have further queries, please email uniform@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk and we will aim to answer your question. Further details will be issued when available, including how to apply for financial support if your family is affected financially by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Highfields morning assemblies Remember to look out for the emails we are sending with the link to Mr Marsh’s assembly on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. We hope they will make you feel a part of Highfields School, give you the opportunity to get to know some staff and found out what Highfields is like ready for when we meet you in September.

Year 7 PowerPoints and student magazine Some of our year 7 students have put together PowerPoints for students they know in primary schools moving up to Highfields in September and these are being emailed out separately. We hope year 6 students will find it useful to know there will be familiar faces of students who were previously at their primaries to help them when they join us in the new academic year.

Our current year 7 students have also been working hard and put together a magazine for year 6 students. It has been compiled by them to give a little insight into what it is like at Highfields in advance of students starting with us in September – see link below: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/news/269.html

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter September 2020 – Transport to school for year 6 parents/carers The link below is to the Derbyshire County Council website that aims to answer any questions you may have on school transport in September 2020: https://derbyshire.gov.uk/education/schools/your-child-at-school/travel/school-transport.aspx The site provides information on the options available for travelling between school and home, including details on free bus travel, timetables and DCC plans and policies for school transport.

We look forward to meeting you and your child soon, but if you have any queries in the meantime, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Mrs Green in the first instance: tgreen@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

Year 7 team: Mr Rodgers – Associate Assistant Headteacher Mrs Hollinrake & Mrs Redhead – Joint Heads of Year 7 Mrs Green – Year Manager (Year 7)

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Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Careers, College & Apprenticeship News Careers Information Resources Careers information, apprenticeship vacancies and higher education information can be found on the webpage under Students-Work Experience and Careers. http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/careers.html

Careers inspiration and advice from BBC Bitesize Explore BBC Bitesize’s brand new collection of free, online careers resources offering a wealth of inspiration and advice for students.

This new resources offer a rich collection of case studies across a wide range of sectors, linking curriculum subjects and the world of work: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/careers

Online careers programme for 11-18 year olds START is an online careers programme designed to connect 11-18 year olds with their future career potential.

The programme is broken down into sections on ‘world of work’ with a job search according to subject, skill or interest; ‘what to study’ about pathways and qualifications; ‘where to learn’ which views all colleges, universities, sixth forms, training providers and UTC; and ‘employability’ which has sections on work experience, work preparation including CV writing, covering letters and interview preparation.

There is also the facility for students to upload their personal statement and CV, so they can start to build their own careers profile.

Students can access the programme at home via the website (www.startprofile.com) with the student code they have been issued with – contact Mrs Turner for further details.

Chesterfield College For Y11 students looking at applying to Chesterfield College post-16 please follow the link to their live Instagram sessions: https://www.chesterfield.ac.uk/join-us-live-at-lunchtime-to-find-out-moreabout-college-life/

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter

Free Speakers for Schools Virtual Work Experience Programme for students Speakers for Schools is working with almost 150 employers to offer amazing insight days and work experience across the UK. These include Disney, Cisco, Santander, the Bank of England, the NHS, Marie Curie.

Speakers for Schools recognised that more could to be done to provide mind-opening opportunities to young people in communities which struggle to access many of the UK’s leading employers, and so Speakers for Schools committed to delivering a Virtual Work Experience programme (see link below), which would allow young people (aged 14-19) from across the UK to undertake structured, interactive work experience placements with prestigious employers remotely (at school or home).

VWEX - https://www.speakersforschools.org/experience-2/vwex/ School and students will be contacted as Virtual Work Experience placements become available. If students would like to access VWEX opportunities please sign up below: https://www.s4snextgen.org/Sign-Up All students in year 10 have the opportunity to apply for a virtual work experience placement in a wide variety of exciting career opportunities. Speakers for Schools have added exciting virtual work experience opportunities on the portal that they think will be of interest to students. Students should apply as soon as possible to have the best chance of success. The deadlines are soon, so please encourage your son/daughter to put in an early application.

Virtual Work Experience Opportunities: 

29 June – 3 July PWC: Virtual Skills Week



29 June – 3 July Boundless Theatre: Boundless Theatre Online Placement

Age: Year 14-18 Application Deadline 19 June 2020 https://www.s4snextgen.org/?returnurl=%2fOpportunities%2fViewInsight%2fid%2f689

Age: 15+ Application Deadline: 3 June 2020 https://www.s4snextgen.org/opportunities/View/id/656



13 – 17 July Brixton Finishing School: Discover the World of Advertising, Marketing, & Communications Age: 14+ Application Deadline: 19 June 2020 https://www.s4snextgen.org/opportunities/view/id/679



6 -10 July OFCOM: VWEX With the Office of Communications Age: 16+ Application Deadline: 12 June 2020 https://www.s4snextgen.org/opportunities/view/id/692

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Paragon Skills Apprenticeships Paragon Skills is a national apprenticeship training provider with a Grade 2 Good Ofsted rating. Paragon Skills offer intermediate, advanced and higher apprenticeships across a host of industries – from Accountancy and Management to Automotive and Childcare.

Paragon Skills would like to invite students and parents/carers to attend their Virtual Open Day events which will run every Wednesday from 1 July until 19 August between 9am and 5pm.

This is an opportunity to;  Hear from the Chief Executive at Paragon Skills about what modern apprenticeships can offer your students  Understand what programmes Paragon Skills offer from subject experts  Take a sneak peek inside their Automotive Academy in Bournemouth  Join an exclusive talent pool where Paragon Skills will help your students find their dream job  Attend Q&A sessions to find out more from our experts  Meet a number of Gatsby Benchmarks For anyone leaving school there are tough decisions to make, but for the class of 2020, this is amplified by the uncertainty of a global crisis. Whether they know what they want to do or not, the purpose of the Paragon Skills Virtual Open Day is to show that they are here to help school leavers consider their options, and make an informed decision about what’s next.

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Sports Update Mental wellbeing in children and young people – what about the boys?

Mrs Allen has been involved in this project and achieved great success with our year 7 and 8 boys led by mentors from year 12 level 3 sports leaders.

The report sets out six top tips for maximising sports potential to improve boys’ mental health and wellbeing: 1. Working together to understand the issues, including identifying particular male specific barriers 2. Using clear, positive language and taking an enthusiastic approach 3. Ensuring the programme has clear objectives for those involved 4. Promoting physical wellbeing as having equal status to mental wellbeing 5. Using the right setting – usually somewhere familiar like the school sports hall or playing fields 6. Using peer-to-peer support and role models. This approach has been shown to be successful when working with boys and can also reduce the perceived threat to boys’ sense of self when addressing mental health issues

SEN & Leadership Programme – Blended Netball from England Netball Miss Tabbenor will be involved in the SEN & Leadership programme ‘blended netball’ as part of our sports leadership programme. Blended netball is a peer to peer programme designed for mainstream girls to deliver netball to girls with special educational needs within their schools.

Designed to develop life/interpersonal skills such as leadership, communication and empathy, in line with other leadership programmes such as Duke of Edinburgh, it will provide netball for students who may not otherwise be involved in the sport. Sessions are completely student led meaning there's a real hands-off approach.

Badminton England Badminton England have released the guidance for Phase 2 of their Return to Play guidelines, which now includes indoor badminton – see link below: https://www.badmintonengland.co.uk/return-to-play/ A formal announcement from the government is awaited on exactly when and how indoor sports facilities can reopen, although it is hoped the sector will be open from 4 July. With this in mind Badminton England want to give the badminton community as much time as possible, and all the resources required to prepare for a return. Badminton England will continue to monitor and update our documents according to Government guidance.

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter CPD Continues during Covid-19 Mrs Allen took part in a CPD webinar from the Association for Physical Education (afPE) where Jason Robinson (English former dual-code international rugby league and rugby union footballer) delivered a great message in connection with ‘be the best you can be – PE making a difference’ Mrs Allen also completed Sports Leaders UK refresher training and Highfields School is approved to deliver courses from 2020-21 and beyond with new Covid guidelines.

‘I Can I Am’ Completion Congratulations to Sophie (Y9), who is the first girl to finish all the ‘I Can, I AM’ tasks as part of the new resilience programme produced during Covid-19.

A fantastic achievement, well done!

Sports programmes for all students If you have not already started the ‘I Can, I Am’ resilience programme booklets want to do so, please follow the link below.

The two new programmes below are open to all Highfields students, not just students already completing Sports Leadership courses. Mrs Allen has saved all the tasks to Word to make it easier to access - tasks 9/10 are on SMHW. Sports Leaders UK have released badges and certificates for Mrs Allen to present to students upon completion of all 10 tasks.  

‘I Can, I Am’ Resilience programme http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/introduction-to-i-can-i-am-resilienceprogramme.pdf Personal Skills programme http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/PSPInfoSheet.pdf

England Netball Covid-19 guidelines England netball have released info regarding training for netball during Covid-19. For students in U.16-U.18 teams please read the information below when co-ordinating and planning pre-season training. https://www.englandnetball.co.uk/about/covid-19-support/latest-response-to-government-guidance/

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Standing long jump

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Sports activity challenges: Week 8 - Boccia The Rural Derbyshire School Sport Partnership have been working with Active Derbyshire on virtual challenges. As well as being great fun to complete, there are prizes to be won for individuals and schools who participate.

This week the sports activity challenge is Boccia (see link for full details): http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/DerbyshireSchoolGamesBoccia.pdf The resource has simple descriptions and images of all the challenges, a brief history of the sport, some research tasks as well as literacy and numeracy; along with links to Governing Body of sport websites for additional information. There are 10 challenges to complete and a new challenge will be issued weekly focusing on a different sport.

Previous sports challenges can be accessed through the links below: Week 7 – Gymnastics http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/DerbyshireSchoolGamesGymnastics.pdf Week 6 – Cricket: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/DerbyshireSchoolGamesCricket.pdf Week 5 - Athletics: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/DerbyshireSchoolGamesAthletics.pdf Week 4 – Orienteering http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/DerbyshireSchoolGamesOrienteering.pdf Week 3 – Netball http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/DerbyshireSchoolGamesNetball.pdf Week 2 – Football http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/DerbyshireSchoolGamesFootball.pdf Week 1 – Golf http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/DerbyshireSchoolGames.pdf

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Alternative activities to try during time at home Maths – Symmetry ‘Let’s Face It’ Mrs Wragg If something is symmetrical, it has two halves that are exactly the same.

Symmetry is everywhere, for example we can see reflection symmetry in this England flag by drawing in two mirror lines.

There is a lot of symmetry in nature:

But did you know that not all people’s faces are actually symmetrical? Some people’s faces are much more symmetrical than others. See for yourself.

Is your face symmetrical? Is your pet’s face symmetrical? Can you find any celebrities with the most/least symmetrical faces?

Simply paste a front-facing image into a document, copy it, crop them in half, flip one of them and push them together.

Send your findings to your maths teacher, we’d love to see them!

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Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter

Film Studies Mr Warrington Please see the link below to help you with some film choices over the weekend: The Watchers – Issue 15 http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/TheWatchersIssue15.pdf Previous issues 1-14 are also available on our website.

Speakers for Schools virtual talks Speakers for Schools are presenting weekly VTalks. Their schedule is updated weekly and talks will be targeted to different age groups (see speakers below for May). To access the talks click the link: https://www.speakersforschools.org/inspiration/vtalks/upcoming-vtalks/ No logins are required and all attendees can stream the talks without downloading Microsoft Teams.

Links should be opened in a browser that is not Internet Explorer. Students can view by clicking WATCH TALK LIVE HERE and then clicking ‘Watch on web instead’ and sign in anonymously. The speakers will appear at the set times e.g. 10am and 2pm.

DATE

SPEAKER

INFO

Mon 29 June 2pm

Mark Maciver, Slider of Slidercuts

Tues 30 June 10am

Cathy King, Literary Agent, 42 Management & Production

Tues 30 June 2pm

Simon Hodgkinson Group Chief Information Security Officer, BP Plc

Wed 1 July 11am

Celebrating Women in Engineering with Thames Water & UTC Reading

Barber Mark Maciver, better known as the ‘Slider’ of SliderCuts, shapes up a list of high-profile clients, including Stormzy, Tinie Tempah, Anthony Joshua and Marvin Humes. Having started out as an apprentice over 20 years ago, in June 2018 he launched his own barbershop on Hackney Road and has since worked with Facebook and Nike, while his razor-sharp styling sees booked by brands including Louis Vuitton and Burberry at London and Paris fashion weeks.

Mark is joining SFS to discuss his journey as a barber and entrepreneur and to encourage the next generation to consider hairdressing as a potential career. Be sure to tune in to put your questions to Mark!

Find out about the world of writing for film, television and theatre and what it’s like to be a talent agent with SFS & Cathy King, Literary Agent at 42 Management and Production.

Join us Simon Hodgkinson, Group Chief Information Security Officer with BP discusses all things cybersecurity. Learn about Simon's life lessons from a career in tech and gain insights into the opportunities and careers that exist in cybersecurity!

Celebrating women in engineering! Engineering is a key part of the water industry - through engineering we can innovate and help shape our world. Women in engineering roles in Thames Water vary from on-site

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Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter

Thurs 2 July 10am

Dina Gillespie, Area Operations Manager at Thames Water; Katherine Whatley, ICA Technician at Thames Water; Cheryl Atkinson, Thames Valley East Systems Operator, Control at Thames Water; Stephanie Mitchell is the Executive Director of Careers and Destinations at UTC Reading; Year 11 Engineering Student at UTC Reading, Elise Hammond A Tortoise Media Think In with Liz Moseley, Editor and Partner, Tortoise Media

Thurs 2 July 2pm

In collaboration with Penguin Talks: Marlon James, Author & Ekow Eshun, Journalist

Fri 3 July 10am

Andy Haldane, Chief Economist, Bank of England

technicians to design engineers working on developing new projects. Today we will meet three Thames Water colleagues along with UTC Reading’s Careers Lead and one of her engineering students to discuss how we can support a more diverse workforce, challenge stereotypes and provide greater opportunities for women and girls in engineering.

Please note, this event will be moderated and managed by Thames Water.

Liz’s career teacher told her she should be a librarian.

Sadly, she never made it. Instead, Liz is an awardwinning marketer with 20 years’ experience at global media companies. She is now an editor and partner at Tortoise where she runs the ThinkIn programme.

She’s also the ‘voice of Tortoise’ in all Tortoise’s member communications. She was Chief Marketing Officer for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (known as the ‘Oscars’ of the advertising industry) and spent three crazy years being sued by C-list celebrities as publisher of heat magazine. She’s also worked for The Times, The Telegraph and ELLE. Join us as she shares a bit about how she’s managed to blag it for this long, despite failing to get into University twice and repeatedly rebounding off the glass ceiling.

By registering for the event, the student can choose to receive complimentary membership to Tortoise (worth £100)!

Attendance and Tortoise membership is for students aged 16+.

Multi-award winning author, Marlon James, joins British writer, journalist, broadcaster and curator, Ekow Eshun, to discuss what creativity means to them and how we can be more creative in our lives.

We’re excited to welcome Andy Haldane, Chief Economist with the Bank of England to discuss the importance of economics in everyday life, current affairs and their link to economics and answer questions about his own career path and background!

HOW TO JOIN THE VTALKS Join 10 minutes before the VTALK to be ready You can join without needing an account – https://vimeo.com/418436143 For full speaker descriptions visit https://www.speakersforschools.org/inspiration/vtalks/upcoming-vtalks/

  

VTALK LIBRARY & MORE You can watch pre-recorded VTalks through the following link: https://www.speakersforschools.org/inspiration/vtalks/vtalks-video-library/

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Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Competitions BBC Young Composer 2020 competition The BBC Young Composer 2020 competition is open to students aged 12-18 of all technical abilities, backgrounds, and musical influences. The deadline for this year's competition is 5pm, Monday 20 July. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2020/young-composer-launch The 30 Second Composition Challenge has also been launched challenging composers aged 1218 to get creative at home and create a 30-second piece for a single instrument or voice. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/TByVm765XjYpg6b8y5MCzM/bbc-young-composer-30second-composition-challenge]

Competition: a vision for life after Covid-19 "Never waste a good crisis" This competition, run by UCL openDemocracy, was launched on 17 June and is open to school and university students (aged 14 and up) to share their vision of the future, with prizes of £200, £100 or £50 in book tokens plus the chance for personal mentoring from the panel of some of the world's foremost thinkers and some fantastic work experience with either UCL or openDemocracy.

Entrants can submit either a written article, short video or image that describes their vision for the world after the coronavirus crisis has passed.

To find out more visit: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/world-after-covid/

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Y7 and Y8 Science Competition Mrs Harrison would like year 7 and year 8 science students to take part in the ‘make a model virus’ competition. We would like you to make a model and send in photographs of your entries by 17 July 2020 to sharrison@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk with the subject VIRUS COMPETITION in the title.

Entries will be judged over the summer and the top three Y7 and Y8 entries will receive edible prizes.

To view the full pdf and details please click the link below: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/Y78ScienceCompetition.pdf

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Joined Up Careers Derbyshire competition to celebrate our health and social care heroes through creative art Joined Up Careers Derbyshire is encouraging children and young people to get creative in order to celebrate our health and social care heroes.

There are hundreds of different job roles in the NHS and social care and all who work in Derby and Derbyshire have been magnificent in recent months as we battle the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected all our lives.

The nation is rightly proud of the contributions of key workers and we now want to recognise and celebrate the efforts of employees in this sector through an art competition for children and young people.

Children and young people, aged between four and 16, are being encouraged to capture through art what our health and social care heroes mean to them.

The competition is free to enter and participants have until Friday 31 July 2020 to submit their works of inspirational art. Any style of art is being accepted with entries being submitted via a digital photo emailed to dhcft.joinedupcareers@nhs.net There are a number of prizes available and the winner will have their artwork showcased in a future campaign to recruit to the health and social care workforce.

Susan Spray, programme lead for Joined Up Careers Derbyshire: “We’re encouraging children and

young people to get creative – drawing, painting, photography, sculpture or whatever artform they enjoy most. We will judge the entries via a submitted photo of whatever they produce. We think this is a great chance to celebrate the work of everyone in health and social care and give children and young people in Derby and Derbyshire a focus for their lockdown artistic efforts.”

Joined Up Careers Derbyshire is a partnership of NHS, local authorities and the voluntary and community sector, promoting recruitment and retention in the health and social care workforce.

Further information and full competition terms and conditions are available on the Joined Up Careers Derbyshire website: www.joinedupcareers.co.uk/about/art-competition Updates on the competition will be made on the social media pages of Joined Up Careers Derbyshire including Twitter at @JUCareersD using #CareersArt

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Keeping Highfields reading: how to access free books It’s really important that students keep up with reading whilst school is closed. The recommended reading time is at least 20 minutes every day. We recognise that at the current time it may be difficult to find books to read. Books are still readily available to buy online from Amazon, Waterstones and other bookshops, but there are also a growing number of sources of free books. The situation is changing every day, with publishers starting to offer access to more and more books, so this advice will be regularly updated. At the current time, the best sources of free reading material are:

Kindle Unlimited If you are an Amazon Prime member you can sign up for two free months of KindleUnlimited. You will need to download the Kindle app on any device and then you’ll have unlimited access to books, magazines and audiobooks on the Kindle store. After the free trial period there’s a charge of £7.99 per month, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. Visit https://www.amazon.co.uk/kindledbs/hz/subscribe/ku?shoppingPortalEnabled=true for more information.

If you don’t want to sign up to KindleUnlimited you can still download some very inexpensive – or even free - titles from the Amazon Kindle store. Have a browse through the “Children’s” and “Teen & Young Adult” sections. There are some good offers. For instance, the first and second titles in the very popular “Cogheart” series are completely free at the moment. Free titles seem to be added daily, so it’s worth having a regular check of the website.

Audible Amazon Audible has made all its audiobooks available free of charge if you start a 30-day free trial subscription with them. Visit http://www.audible.co.uk

Derbyshire Libraries You can read thousands of e-books for free through Derbyshire Libraries. Even if you haven’t yet joined the library, you can join online and download e-books immediately.

If you are already a member go to https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/libraries/ebooks/ebooksemagazines-and-eaudiobooks.aspx and follow the instructions to start browsing through the books available.

If you aren’t yet a member of a Derbyshire library go to: https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/libraries/using-your-library/joining/joining-the-library.aspx and click on “Join the Library”. Fill in all your details and you’ll be given a temporary username and password that you can use until you get a membership card. So you’ll be able to start downloading books straight away.

Happy reading!

Updates to follow as and when other sources of reading material become available.

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Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Updates and Reminders for Students Year 11 Frequently Asked Questions: Sixth Form Entry Can I change my Sixth Form options?

Yes, but.. (a) during your sixth form interview it might be that we decided it would be good to do or not do a particular subject - in your best interests. So in terms of changes, just to think, check and talk to us if this was the case. (b) some classes do get full. Unfortunately there are limits beyond which make it difficult to teach, and so we may need to say no. And in fact, you probably don't want to be taught in a very large class either. (c) it is probably not advisable to change subjects just on the basis of the work being set now on SMHW. We say this at the beginning of Year 12 too. You might hear of something interesting being set in another subject, or find something you've been set a bit hard, or not what you expected. Some teachers also have more time than others in terms of what they are setting.

Broadly speaking your original decision is likely to have been your best one. (d) where you were uncertain about which subject to take, we have tried to put you into the classes you were interested in on SMHW, so you can see the type of work in each subject and this might help to make up your mind.

Do I need to do all the work in SMHW? Yes. Of course there may be some bits where a teacher has made clear that 'if you are interested you could have a look at....' - in which case that might be up to your interest. But the point of this work is to give you the best start possible, and we don't know what will happen during the rest of the year, so the work is important to do.

You only need to do work in the subjects you are going to do in Sixth Form. Not in any others. (We may have added you to a fourth or fifth subject in cases where you weren’t sure what subject you wanted to do at A Level. If you are sure you don’t want to do that subject, that’s fine – it would be helpful to let us know and we can take you off that course).

Is it too late to apply for Sixth Form?

No. Just email Mr Flett (mflett@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk) and he will be able to call you to discuss options. The criteria are set out below (and are in the online prospectus).

Are the entry criteria for Sixth Form still the same?

Yes. The entry criteria for entry into sixth form remain the same, as they have done for previous years, which is an average of a Grade 4 across all subjects (with the additional requirements for maths, physics, chemistry and biology, as set out in the prospectus).

You will understand that, in advance of the results being officially published, we do not know who will get an average of a Grade 4 and who will not. In accordance with government regulations, teachers must not discuss grades with students.

As in previous years, we can advise whether it seems sensible to have a back up option, like a college course which might suit you. We believe that all those who wanted to, have had discussions around this, but if you do have queries, please email Mr Flett who will be able to call you.

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Teachers and tutors will not be able to comment further on this.

Have I got a place in Sixth Form?

Provided you meet the entry requirements, then you get a place in sixth form. So it is not a case of ‘have an interview’ and then ‘wait to hear confirmation’. We have you down for the subjects that you are entered for in SMHW. Although remember that:  there are specific entry requirements to do maths, further maths, biology, chemistry and physics.  we may have entered you on SMHW for one or two extra subjects that you were interested in.

How do I make contact for options, changes, discussions Please feel free to email Mr Flett if you want to discuss changes to options for sixth form (and avoid overloading Mr Redhead’s inbox).

Advice from Colleges The colleges are still providing advice and accepting applications. For example at Chesterfield: “The student services team are managing the advice@chesterfield.ac.uk email so this would be the first point of contact. They are currently extremely busy so there may be a delay on the reply.”

Qualifications and Exams: Years 11 and 13 students We will keep families updated on any further Ofqual information published.

Exam results dates at present will be on the following dates as originally scheduled – further details to follow: Year 13 - 13 August 2020 Year 11 - 20 August 2020 The DFE have recently updated their information about the award of grades this summer to reflect further decisions about appeals and standardisation – full details can be accessed below: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/ 890811/Summer_2020_grades_for_GCSE_AS_A_level_guidance_for_teachers_students_parents_09 062020.pdf Ofqual video – qualifications process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXuDOrtJY1Q&feature=youtu.be Ofqual letter for students about grading and qualifications this summer: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/ 878854/Letter_to_students_-_Summer_2020_grading.pdf

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter

School to home communication Students should be regularly checking their school email account as well as Show My Homework daily (Monday to Friday during the school term) for the latest updates and work to do at home.

Communication with teachers Please can all students/parents wanting support or advice on any pieces of homework set at this time use the messaging/comments option in SMHW. Teachers are aware that many of you will have questions for certain tasks and so are regularly checking SMHW for notifications. If you are unsure how to do this, please take a look at the web link below: https://help.teamsatchel.com/en/articles/2911863-leaving-comments-for-your-teachers Please only use teacher emails as a last resort, and certainly not until you have tried a message on SMHW to your teacher. Remember you must use your school email accounts to contact staff.

Usernames and passwords for school email accounts are the same as student log-ins to school computers. Staff are unable to respond to emails from students’ personal accounts.

Show My Homework online homework submission guidance Students should be submitting work through the SMHW platform. The link below is from SMHW and explains how to do this or you can follow the steps below: https://help.teamsatchel.com/en/articles/2912000-submitting-my-work-online

Shout Outs If anyone wants a 'shout out' for somebody who is doing something excellent please let us know by email wearehighfields@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk and we will try to feature in future assemblies.

Free Microsoft Office for Students Students at Highfields School can download Microsoft Office for free on up to 5 devices, for the duration of their time as a student at the school. Microsoft Office can be installed on compatible desktop computers, tablets, and mobile phones. http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/office.html

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Learning at home Thank you to all the parents/carers for all you are doing to support your child's learning at home. We really appreciate how new and different this is and how much you are juggling.

Student timetables for working from home Students should expect to complete the same amount of work / study for the same number of hours as they would in a normal week. Keeping a routine similar to a school day and homework is a good idea. All work is being set on Show My Homework. It is set on a weekly timetable for each year group as shown below.

Years 7-10 school timetable Year 7: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

English, Geography and Art Maths, History and DT English, PRS and Music Maths, Drama and Computing Science, Dance and Language

Year 9: Revised timetable from 15.6.20 English, Option A, PRS Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Maths, Option B, PE Chemistry, Biology Maths, Option C English, Physics, Option D

Year 8: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Maths, History and DT English, Geography and Art Maths, Drama and Computing Science, Dance and Language English, PRS and Music

Year 10 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Option A (Friday period 1), English and Biology Option B (Wednesday period 4) and Maths Option C (Monday period 5), Physics and PRS Option D (Tuesday period 4) and English Maths and Chemistry

Y9 students’ work will be set as per their school timetabled option block periods for September 2020 as defined above. Option blocks are listed below and students have already received their option choice subjects and blocks.

Option A: Art, Business, Geography, History, Creative iMedia, Music, PE, Sport, Support Food or Triple Science Option C: DT, Engineering, Film, Food, Geography, History, PE, Photography or Travel & Tourism

Option B: Computing, Film, French, Geography, German, History, Photography or Triple Science Option D: Art, Biology, Dance, Drama, Engineering, Food, French, German or Triple Science

Year 11 work to help you into year 12 Mr Flett has issued several ideas to get students started on work that will make a difference to performance at A Level. Many of these are curiosity based tasks, but all year 11 parents/carers and

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter students should now be in receipt about year 11 into 12 bridging work for sixth form set through Show My Homework to help support transition to A Levels.

Year 12 school timetable Work is set by teachers and departments using Show My Homework.

Year 12 additional information Online Courses If you want to be occasionally looking at other things, then here are a selection of short online courses you can do through the University of York. They are engaging ways of looking at subjects you are interested in now, or things you might want to study at university. It is great to put on your CV/personal statement that you have done one of them. They have always been designed as online courses, so are perfect to do from home. Some of them will even help with your A Level studies (of course you can do these courses after the year 12 exams if you are too busy now) – see link – York University: https://www.york.ac.uk/study/moocs/?utm_source=University%20of%20York&utm_medium=email &utm_campaign=11474649_April20%20Excellence%20Hub%20News%20Bulletin&dm_i=1BEN,6TX W9,RZCL6,RDHSM,1

Unifrog, Open Days, looking ahead Unifrog (our Higher Education and Apprenticeships platform) is still available and has increased its distance learning resources. Students can log into it, in the normal way, as they would at school.

In recent conversations with students, we were discussing university visits. As you'll imagine, the virtual tours are being beefed up. I took a virtual tour of Nottingham Trent University. It is a really strong university, and we always try to go there for the Open Day (along with a trip to Birmingham, Leeds or Manchester). On the virtual tour I checked out some of the departments I normally like going to, and also a tour of the accommodation, facilities and city. It was a good experience and quite quickly gave me the feel that I normally get when we go there. The link for it is below, although obviously you can go out and do the same with many different universities just now. https://virtualtour.ntu.ac.uk/ Please get in touch through the school email system if you need to speak with any member of the sixth form team rather than responding to the InTouch generic emailing system as this platform is not manned daily and it will take us longer to respond to you.

Y11 and Y13 – Suggestions for making best use of time The cancellation of summer exams has obviously had a huge impact on all our Y11 and 13 students.

All that extra time which was being spent on final exam preparation can be put to really good use. It is vital that you keep your brains active, and no learning is ever wasted. Lots of people have already shared some great ideas (see link to school website below): http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/StudentPDFs/Y11andY13learningsuggestions.pdf Keep your brain moving. Make the most of your time. Learn something new.

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Higher Education information Messages have been emailed out about the start of the Higher Education process. Please keep an eye on your inboxes for further information.

Recent information has been issued on the following (there is some Apprenticeship advice in here too - so this is for everyone!).

1. An easy to look through list: Have a look through the emailed list of University Open Days, plus lots of other talks – on careers and other opportunities. The list is there so you don’t need to navigate through more clunky online websites. Have a scan through and see what appeals to you. Some of the talks in here are priceless: it's all the open days but plenty more besides: talks about apprenticeships in BP, talks about the film-making industry, how to get into financial services, and other thought-provoking talks.

2. A recorded Zoom with our former Highfields Students: We have got together with some of our Highfields Sixth Formers who left last year, and have had a year at university (or a gap year). Normally we bring them back to school, to be with you in a classroom. It's a fun and relaxed session and you get to ask whatever questions you like. It gives you a university view from Matlock students, hopefully you learn a lot and pick up on their vibes.

Instead of this we have Zoomed with them and recorded the Zoom session. We think it’s really worth watching and you’ll pick up lots if tips that you might not find elsewhere. You’ll be able to watch it by clicking on the link which was emailed out. It’s worth watching right through – the tip that makes a difference to you, might be just around the corner.

3. Getting experience (remotely): Getting work experience is important to everyone because it helps you to: write better personal statements (for UCAS); write better CVs if you are applying for jobs; it helps decide what you want to do; and for some courses it is required – like Medicine, primary teaching, veterinary courses etc. But of course, this year that’s different.

So, what to do? The document linked below has been prepared by medical schools – but many of the principles in it apply whether you are wanting to apply for an apprenticeship or job, or any other course. Have a scan through it to see their practical suggestions – like following blogs of what certain professionals have been doing during lockdown, and learning from what they say – does their experience appeal to you, or put you off? https://www.abdn.ac.uk/staffnet/documents/Guidance-on-gaining-relevant-experienceCovid19.pdf 4. Early applicants: (Oxbridge, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry). Firstly, please can you email Mr Flett to confirm you are interested in applying to one of these courses. Once that has happened we will set up a Zoom meeting (probably in an evening, so that parents can join in too), to discuss these applications. In earlier emails, we sent round this link to the Oxbridge conference sessions: https://www.oxfordandcambridgeoutreach.co.uk/student-conference/introduction There have been some problems accessing this website – I have managed it from home but not at school. However there are plenty of others: http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/videos (and similar for Cambridge).

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter 5.

Our mode of working: Normally we do an evening for parents and students this week (with universities), and we then do a UCAS day with lots of advice. Then we give you guidance sheets which summarise what we have said.

This time round we are going to ‘flip’ it. So we will give you our guidance sheets, and we want you to see if you understand them. They might answer a lot of questions you have. Then you can email in any further questions you have. After this, we are looking into having a mega-zoom session where students and parents can come along one evening to hear some further thoughts and advice, and we can answer any of the questions you have sent in.

As always, get in touch with any of us if you want some help.

Mr Flett and Mrs Cruise Sixth form team

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Parents/carers can help Please help us by: 

Making sure your child has access to their school email account from home. Ideally this will be on a home (or borrowed) desktop, laptop or tablet although we recognise that some students don’t have access to these and may only able to access email on their (or your) phone.



Making sure your child has somewhere quiet to work. In the event of an extended school closure we would ask that parents/carers try to ensure that conditions at home are conductive to allow 67 hours good quality work each day.

Guidance on work expectations and how to manage it 1. As you know work should be set for Y7-10 on the basis of a weekly timetable, with 3-4 subjects being covered on each day.

2. Work should be completed on the day that it is set. We have realised that by setting longer deadlines it can be hard for students to know what to do when, work can actually build up and become unmanageable. We want every student to be as clear as possible about the work they need to do each day and to be able to complete it neatly in one day. They should then be able to switch off knowing they’ve done a good day’s work. We are not setting homework now; it is included within the work set in each slot. Some subjects may be setting more extended project style work. Teachers have been asked to make sure work towards these is broken down into chunks and not set over a number of weeks, which can make it look like it is on-going in Show My Homework.

3. Students should be working each school day, but not working excessive hours. They should not be working much more than they would normally. Students in Y7-9 should be expecting to spend around 4.5 hours each day working, students in Y10 around 5 hours. In many cases this will mean about 90 minutes per subject on each day in Y7-9 and about 100 minutes for Y10.

Some subjects only have 1 lesson a week, for example PRS and Music. They will set work for up to 45 minutes.

4. Estimating exactly how much work different students are likely to do in the time set is really hard – everyone is different, and works at a different pace and with different approaches. While we can adapt to this easily in a school situation it is harder to do remotely.

Please keep this in mind and get in touch if you are finding that there is regularly too much work to manage.

5. Teaching staff will be mindful of all of the above when setting their work. We think that in some cases we may have over-estimated the amount of work that can be completed within certain time frames and are asking staff to think carefully about this. We are aware that it can take time to work through instructions, to access resources and to save work for example, and that family members who are trying to help may be very busy too. We also know that spending hours at a computer is not easy for many students, and not good for them either. They need to have breaks, ideally get some fresh air and exercise and to talk to others.

6. Everyone is starting to find routines that work for them. For many this will be to try to follow the hours of a normal school day, starting with assembly at 9.00am and completing school work over a number of hours until around 3.30pm. Then switching off. This may not be ideal for all, or always be manageable but it is likely to provide a good model. Working late into the evening is not generally a good idea.

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Once again we are so grateful to you for your support, understanding and flexibility. You are helping us to be the best ‘virtual Highfields’ we can be; we are learning every step of the way and can do a great job if we continuing working together.

Resources for Highfields students learning from home Show My Homework: Access to work set is through Show My Homework www.showmyhomework.co.uk/ (also accessible via the school website). Students can log on to Show My Homework using their school username and password. Please ensure your children check Show My Homework regularly as staff will be updating their subject areas.

School Website / VLE: Resources are available on the school website: www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk Students can access ‘all users’ from home from the Highfields School website:  Go to Highfields School homepage  Click on ‘portals’  Click on ‘student portal’  Enter school IT username (not email address) and password  Find ‘all users Starkholmes’ or ‘all users Lumsdale’ on the right hand side  Select the appropriate department/folder required.

If students have forgotten their password please email reset@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk specifying your user name and form to request a new password.

‘Always be doing’ Tasks: All students have been given ‘always be doing’ tasks to work through during any time spent at home.

Copies of the information can be downloaded from our website as follows for each key stage: Years 7-9 (key stage 3): http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/StudentPDFs/KS3ABD.pdf Year 10 (key stage 4): http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/ExamPDFs/KS4ABD.pdf

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter

Study Boost Loughborough University Loughborough University have set up ‘study boost’ - a free service that aims to support you with the challenging topics you may be facing in core GCSE subjects: biology, chemistry, physics, maths, English language and literature.

All you need to do to is complete the short form with the question that you need help with. One of the university’s study boost mentors will then record a presentation detailing how to solve a similar problem, as well as providing hints and tips as to how to approach the specific topic. Please note that whilst the mentors aim to provide as much help as they can, they cannot complete specific homework or coursework assignments.

You may also wish to review our selection of presentations for further subject advice and guidance.

Mentors will aim to respond to your question within one working day. You will be notified, via the email you supply on the form, that your answer is ready. To access the ‘study boost’ website follow the link: https://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/school-college-liaison/study-boost/

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Parents/carers – support and advice Help & Support information We are regularly updating the school website with the latest information and activities, including our ‘Help & Support’ page: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/support.html

Free School Meals National Voucher Scheme and Universal Credit Children eligible for free school meals can benefit from a national voucher scheme allowing them to continue to access meals whilst they stay at home. Families of eligible free school meals students have been contacted by school to receive a weekly shopping voucher worth £15 to spend at supermarkets while schools are closed due to coronavirus.

The vouchers are sent as an e-code which can be redeemed as an e-voucher. The e-voucher can be downloaded to a smartphone or printed to use and can be spent on food at a range of shops including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Waitrose and M&S. The Department for Education is working to get more shops to join the scheme as soon as possible.

If you have not received an email from school and are a family who is eligible for free school meals please contact the Finance department (finance@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk).

If you have received an email but not yet responded, please do so as soon as possible so the vouchers can be sent out to you.

If you are a family who have had to apply for Universal Credit for the first time to help you out during these difficult times, please remember to apply for Free School Meals and let us know if you are successful by forwarding your confirmation email to us so we can change your status and add you to the voucher/hamper schemes school is operating.

If you feel you may be eligible for Free School Meals you can contact the Free School Meals team in any of the following ways:   

Email: checking@derbyshire.gov.uk Telephone: 01629 536400 / 01629 535743 Families can also apply directly online at: https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/education/schools/your-child-at-school/meals/school-meals/freeschool-meals.aspx

‘We Are Highfields Fund’ 2020 Application forms for the We Are Highfields Fund can be requested from the finance office (finance@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk) or by phone (01629 832325), your child’s year manager or website http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/WeAreHighfieldsApplication.docx.

This is a hardship grant and is considered on a case by case basis. This grant scheme will be paid out until funds are exhausted. To be eligible you must be a parent/carer of a students at Highfields School and have savings of less than £1,000 per person or £2,000 for a family or couple (including rolling bank balance).

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Highfields Emergency Childcare Since 23 March, in line with scientific advice, schools have remained open only to a priority group of children and young people, children who have a parent/carer who is a critical worker and vulnerable children.

Now that the government have made progress in reducing the transmission of coronavirus they are encouraging all eligible children to attend settings (where there are no shielding concerns for the chid or their household). As you are aware from w/c 15 June we are offering face-to-face support for Y10 and Y12 students on a phased return.

Children of critical workers, and vulnerable children who are already eligible, will continue to be offered a place in Highfields Emergency Childcare, regardless of the year group they are in.

If you are a keyworker and require emergency childcare, please contact Mrs Leverton by Friday each week with specific details regarding the days and times of the following week that emergency childcare is required (lleverton@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk).

The definition of critical workers remains unchanged. A full list of keyworkers can be accessed on the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintainingeducational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintainingeducational-provision

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter

Derbyshire County Council Advice on COVID-19 for Parents/Carers We appreciate some parents/carers and children may be worried about themselves, members of their family, or their friends becoming ill. There’s lots of advice about how to talk to your child about Coronavirus.

Below is a list of helpful resources: 

National Autistic Society – guidance and helpline for parents, young people and staff https://www.autism.org.uk/services/nas-schools/vanguard/news/2020/march/coronavirus(covid-19)-advice.aspx



Mencap - Easy Read guide to coronavirus https://www.mencap.org.uk/advice-and-support/health/coronavirus



Place2Be – Have a useful guide for helping parents answer questions from their children and to support family wellbeing https://www.place2be.org.uk/about-us/news-and-blogs/2020/march/coronavirus-informationfor-children/



Young Minds - Talking to your child about coronavirus and 10 tips from their Parents Helpline to support family wellbeing https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/talking-to-your-child-about-coronavirus/



Carers UK - Guidance for carers https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/health/looking-after-your-health/coronavirus-covid-19



Covibook is an interactive resource designed to support and reassure children aged 7 and under, designed to help children explain and draw the emotions that they might be experiencing during the pandemic https://www.mindheart.co/descargables



Amaze - information pack for parents/carers https://amazesussex.org.uk/faqs-about-the-coronavirus-for-parent-carers-of-children-with-sendbrighton-hove/

Public Health England Public Health England have produced an easy read version of their advice on the coronavirus for places of education. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england You can download a copy from Easy Read Online. https://www.easy-read-online.co.uk/media/53192/advice-on-the-coronavirus-v1.pdf

COVID-19 Chesterfield Support Network http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/COVID19_Support_v3.pdf

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter NSPCC Coronavirus link The link below is from the NSPCC with some helpful advice on speaking to young people about the Coronavirus. https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/childrens-mental-health/depression-anxiety-mentalhealth/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Talking%20to%20a%20child%20worried% 20about%20coronavirus%20%28COVID-19%29&utm_campaign=CASPAR-2019-03-30

CAMHS resource The CAMHS website contains resources and links to support young people and families with their mental health and emotional wellbeing. Website: https://www.camhs-resources.co.uk/

Domestic abuse Boots are offering a safe space for domestic abuse victims.

Website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52495434

Online Safety During the school closures our children will be spending more time online and we are aware that not all parents/carers may be as engaged as they usually are as they try to balance work deadlines with childcare. Screen time is inevitably going to win at some point for most families and it is more important than before that we remind parents/carers of the key role in helping to keep children safe.

The YouTube clip below is to remind parents/carers of the importance of engaging with their child/s online lives during this time. Additional clips will be released and cover issues such as parental controls (and how to set them), which apps have seen a surge in popularity since the pandemic and age specific information aimed at 0-5's, 6 - 11's and over 11's. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhLWwQ4Ay5s Traci Good, Director of E Safety Training Ltd Safeguarding, Derbyshire County Council

Online Prescription Delivery Pharmacy2U deliver prescriptions to homes for any families unable to get out to the local chemists. https://www.pharmacy2u.co.uk/

Online Safety Advice from SV2 SV2 is a charity in Derbyshire that provides support services to victims of sexual violence. They are also offering help and advice about online safety covering online grooming, social media privacy and what to do if you become a victim of online harm.

See SV2 website: www.sv2.org.uk

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter SV2: Supporting victims of Sexual Violence Web Chat on line Forum - July Please see below for new dates for SV2s June/July web chat facility.

Food supplies Jigsaw Jigsaw food bank have crisis food parcels daily, as well as a 12 weekly delivery on Thursdays. Weekly food parcels will be delivered to families who are referred by a professional.

Food bank There is a food bank based at 23 Firs Parade, Matlock that is very well stocked. If you need this assistance or know anyone that does and might not be aware of it, please pass this on.

John Palin

https://johnpalinlocal.co.uk/ John Palin Wholesale is a large independent supplier and distributor of fresh fruit, vegetables, salad, bakery and dairy items.

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter 10 top tips from the Highfields Cluster Family Support Team Highfields family support team wanted to provide some helpful tips to help families during this current lockdown. Information is available on the school website through the link below: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/NewsPDFs/HelpfulTipsForParentsAndCarersDuringLock down.pdf

Helping children and young people to manage anxiety If a child is displaying signs of anxiety how can you support them?

A practical guide to supporting pupils and students during periods of disruption from the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families: https://www.annafreud.org/media/11465/helping-cyp-manage-anxiety-apr2020-v3.pdf

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Useful contact numbers Benefit enquires Citizens Advice Line (CAB)—0300 456 8390

Food bank Jigsaw Food Bank—01629 584783

Mental health Derwent Rural Counselling—0800 047 6861 Talking Mental Health—0300 123 0542 Trent PTS (Mental Health Support)—01332 265659 Papyrus UK Helpline (Suicide) - 0800 068 41 41 First Steps (Eating Disorders)—01332 367571 Young Carers—01773 833833

Domestic abuse National Domestic Abuse Helpline—0808 2000 247 Crossroads Derbyshire (Domestic Abuse)—01457 856675 The Elm Foundation (Domestic Abuse)—01246 540464

Other Police—101/999 Non-Emergency Health Advice—111

School Nurse Service Health Visitor and School Nurse SPA Hub – telephone: 01246 515100 Website: www.derbyshireschoolnurses.org.uk General Covid-19 info and community health services info website: www.dchs.nhs.uk

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Local support available for parents/carers

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Helplines, Apps and Websites if you need help now

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter

Be the best you can

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter

Be the best you can

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter

Be the best you can

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Staying Safe Online

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Share with Care

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter App Safety

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter

GOV.UK Department for Education: Handwashing advice The most important thing individuals can do to protect themselves is to wash their hands more often, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water. Public Health England recommends that in addition to handwashing before eating, and after coughing and sneezing, everyone should also wash hands after using toilets and travelling on public transport.

The latest guidance and video on hand washing can be found here:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

Department for Education coronavirus helpline The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents/carers and young people can contact this helpline as follows: Phone: 0800 046 8687 Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday), 10am to 4pm (Saturday to Sunday) Please note, the helpline is experiencing high volumes of calls.

Where to find the latest information Updates on COVID-19: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Derbyshire County Council latest advice and guidance: www.derbyshire.gov.uk/coronavirus

Public Health England for the East Midlands: PHE East Midlands response centre Tel: 0344 225 4524 followed by Option 0 to get through to East Midlands Health Protection Team, then press option 1, then ask for the Coronavirus Response Centre.

Open from 8am to 8pm.

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Highfields School Contact details Communication with school Lower school site (Starkholmes) - to contact year managers for years 7 or 8 please email as follows: Mrs Green -Year Manager (year 7) tgreen@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

Mrs Weightman-Edge - Year Manager (year 8) Hweightman-edge@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

Upper school site (Lumsdale) - to contact year managers for years 9-13 please email as follows: Miss Esposito - Year Manager (year 9) aesposito@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

Mr Tidmarsh - Year Manager (year 11) dtidmarsh@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

Mr Allsobrook -Year Manager (year 10) callsobrook@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

Mrs Sargeant - Year Manager (sixth form) rsargeant@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk Mr Flett or Mrs Cruise mflett@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk ecruise@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

Website:

www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

General email:

info@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

Admissions:

admissions@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

Chair of Governors:

chair@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

SENCO:

mhodkin@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

Newsletter feedback:

newsletter@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

Careers information:

careers@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

Your contact details

Please ensure you notify us of any changes of address, telephone and email details to ensure our records are up to date in case of emergency.

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Key Staff for 2019-20 Headteacher: Mr A Marsh

Deputy Headteacher:

Mr P R Cole

Assistant Headteachers:

Mr D O’Reilly Mrs C Rifkin Mr M Hodkin

Associate Assistant Headteachers: Mr K Rodgers - Years 7 and 8 (based at Starkholmes) Miss N Gresswell - Years 9, 10 & 11 (based at Lumsdale) Mrs C Morgan – Curriculum and timetabling

Heads of Year: Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Sixth form

Mrs A Hollinrake / Mrs L Redhead Miss L Hamrouge Mrs A Ruston Miss J Hughes Mr J Redhead Mr M Flett

Year Managers: Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Sixth form

Mrs Green Mrs Weightman-Edge Miss Esposito Mr Allsobrook Mr Tidmarsh Mrs R Sargeant

If you wish to report student absences, please contact the relevant pastoral staff to your son/daughter’s year group as indicated above.

Department Contacts: Art – Mrs K Fairbank Business – Mr I Lovatt Computing – Mrs J Hadfield D&T – Miss A Morris Drama & Dance – Miss E Bonsall English – Mr R Key Film Studies – Mr C Warrington Geography – Mrs M Barker History – Mrs J Clifford Maths – Miss S Wallhead

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Modern Foreign Languages – Mrs M Bowen Music – Mr K Rowley PE – Mr C Shirtcliffe Psychology – Miss H Ould PRS – Mr R Platts / Mrs S Blakesley PSHE/L2L – Mrs Turner SENCO – Mr M Hodkin Science – Mrs C Morgan Sociology – Mrs A Serjeant

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Highfields School Governing Board 2019-20 Highfields School is fortunate in the kinds of people who have volunteered to become governors, each bringing a variety of skills and experience to support the school.

The composition of the governing board for 2019-20 is split as follows. Each governor serves a term of office of four years.

Name Miss Angeline Ellson Mr Paul Steeples Mr Rob Atkinson Mrs Allison Beesley Mr Edward Coxhead Miss Lizzy Dence Mr Dennis Holmes Mr Andrew Marsh Mr David Matthews Mr Nick Newberry Mrs Antonia O'Donoghue Miss Jodie Rogers

Governor Type Link Governor Area Chair of Governors Leadership and strategy Co-opted Vice Chair of Governors Co-opted Co-opted Inclusion (SEND, behaviour, attendance) Co-opted Co-opted Staff Parent Finance, resources and personnel Headteacher Parent Parent (ending term of office 4.7.20) Co-opted Safeguarding, H&S, well-being Co-opted (ending term of office 4.7.20)

Full details of Highfields Governing Board can be accessed on the school website: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/governors.html

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter Highfields Uniform - September 2020 As you are aware we are launching the Highfields School blazer in September 2020. This remains our intention as this was in place before the closure of school was announced and we have made a commitment to our suppliers.

Both Trutex Direct and Kick Off Sport have now begun stocking the blazer alongside the recommended skirt and school tie. Please refer to the detailed information contained in the Highfields uniform code available on our website (see link below) to ensure your son/daughter has the correct uniform ready for the new academic year.

We are liaising with Kick Off Sport regarding the reopening of their store, as there will be a limit of a maximum of two people in the shop at any one time and we are aware that new starters or families needing to purchase a significant amount of uniform may prefer to do this in person. We are working with Kick Off to see how we can support them with social distancing measures during the Coivd-19 pandemic. When further advice is released by the government, the British Retail Consortium and School Wear Association we will liaise with Kick Off and explain how and when uniform can be purchased safely to comply with regulations.

In the meantime, orders can be placed on line both with Trutex Direct (https://www.trutex.com/) and Kick Off Sport (https://www.kickoffsport.co.uk/highfields-uniform.html) if you know the size and items required without the need to visit a store directly. To assist with purchasing the right sizes Kick Off Sport have produced a size guide (see link below). Both suppliers have sufficient stocks of uniform to ensure everyone is accommodated for September.

We are looking to help support families to purchase uniform who may be struggling financially due to the coronavirus crisis. If you wish to apply for financial support please complete the application (http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/InfoPDFs/SchoolUniformApplicationGrant.doc) and send along with any supporting documentation to finance@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk to check eligibility.

A Frequently Asked Questions guide has been prepared on our school uniform and has been updated in light of the coronavirus crisis and is available on our website (see link below) If FAQs do not answer your query, please contact uniform@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk.

Uniform Code: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/InfoPDFs/UniformCode.pdf FAQs: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/InfoPDFs/UniformFAQs.pdf.

Uniform supply list: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/InfoPDFs/UniformList.pdf Uniform size guide: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/InfoPDFs/UniformSizeGuide.pdf School Uniform Grant Application for September 2020: Pdf format: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/InfoPDFs/SchoolUniformApplicationGrant.pdf Word format: http://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/pdfs/InfoPDFs/SchoolUniformApplicationGrant.doc We will regularly update you with further information as we receive it.

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Highfields School

Issue 36: 26 June 2020

Newsletter 2019-20 academic year Term dates:  3 September 2019 - 25 October 2019  4 November 2019- 20 December 2019  6 January 2020 - 14 February 2020  24 February 2020 - 3 April 2020  20 April 2020 - 22 May 2020  1 June 2020 - 21 July 2020

Bank holidays:  25 and 26 December 2019  1 January 2020  10 April 2020 (Good Friday)  13 April 2020 (Easter Monday)  Friday 8 May 2020*  25 May 2020 (spring bank holiday)  31 August 2020 (summer bank holiday)

INSET days (no students in school):  Tuesday 3 September 2019  Friday 6 December 2019  Friday 3 July 2020  Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 July 2020

* Change to May Bank Holliday: Next year's early May bank holiday has been moved back by four days for the whole of the UK to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE Day. May Day was scheduled to be held on Monday 4 May but will be put back to Friday 8 May for 2020 only.

In line with government guidelines Highfields School closed from 3.30pm on Friday 20 March 2020 to all students apart from those of keyworkers requiring emergency childcare in response to the outbreak of Covid-19.

2020-21 academic year Term dates:  1 September 2020** to 23 October 2020  2 November 2020 to 17 December 2020**  4 January 2021 to 12 February 2021  22 February 2021 to 1 April 2021  19 April 2021 to 28 May 2021  7 June 2021 to 22 July 2021

INSET days (no students in school): 1 September 2020

Remaining dates to be confirmed

** From 2015 schools have been able to consider variations to term dates provided they meet the statutory requirements. With this in mind we have taken the decision to return to school one day earlier for the start of the new academic year (Tuesday 1 September 2020) and finish the autumn term one day earlier (Thursday 17 December 2020). This is to ensure a smooth start to the academic year rather than students starting back with a staggered start on Thursday or Friday.

The start of the 2020-21 academic year is as follows:  Tuesday 1 September 2020 - Staff will return to school on Tuesday that will be designated as an INSET day (no students in school).  Wednesday 2 September 2020 – students in years 7 and 9 only return to school  Thursday 3 September 2020 – all students return to school

ParentView Survey We would like to remind you that you have the opportunity to give your views of school through the Ofsted Parent View survey below. https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/ The survey is designed by Ofsted and is used by Inspectors when making

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