Summer Term Newsletter

STALHAM HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER July 2018

Message from our Head of School You will hopefully sense from the contents of this edition of our newsletter, that we have had yet another busy and very positive year as a school!

Whilst the focus has always been upon maximising the achievement of our students, particularly the Year 11s, we have also done our best to ensure that the curriculum is enhanced as best we can, and you will be able to read about many of the varied events that have added to our successful year.

What is always very uplifting and reassuring, is the wealth of positive feedback that we receive regarding the conduct and participation of our students in events both in and out of school. This has been a marked feature that I have experienced here more so than in any other school in which I have worked in the 30 years of my career – that is a great credit to everyone for nurturing such a special ethos and atmosphere here. It is this atmosphere which attracts new students and families to the school regularly, and which I shall most definitely miss as I move on from my time at Stalham High. The measure of any school is more than simply headline results, and I sincerely hope that everyone will recognise what makes the school so special, and continue to ensure that everything is in place to maintain that.

Not only will I be leaving this summer, but the school bids fond farewells to Mr Ijaiya (Maths), Mr Marie-Francoise (French) and Ms Brown (English), all of whom have brought much to the school through the way in which they have approached their teaching, and demonstrated a true care for their students in various ways. In turn, the school will welcome Mrs Galloway (Maths), Mrs Emby (French) and Mrs Wells (English), all highly experienced and successful teachers in their respective careers and who will undoubtedly prove to be great assets to the school moving forwards.

Finally, a simple but heartfelt thank you for the support and positive feedback I have received throughout my time here, it has been greatly appreciated.

Mr M Budgett Head of School

Message from our Executive Headteacher, Dr Richardson The North Norfolk Academy Trust would like to thank Mr Budgett and wish him well for the future.

During his brief time at Stalham High, it has been judged a Good school by Ofsted and student progress has continued to improve. Mr Budgett leaves the school a happy and developing place firmly at the cornerstone of the community.

Dr A Richardson Executive Headteacher of the North Norfolk Academy Trust

FORTHCOMING DATES 2018 / 2019

Term dates

Half term holiday dates

Winter term — 6th September — 18th December 2018

Half term —18th — 26th October 2018

Spring term — 3rd January — 5th April 2019

Half term —18th — 22nd February 2019

Summer term — 23rd April—24th July 2019

Bank Holiday — 6th May 2019 Bank Holiday — 27th May 2019 Half term — 28th — 31st May 2019

Parents’ Evenings Year 7 —20th June 2019 Year 8—9th May 2019 Year 9 —28th March 2019 Year 10 —17th January 2019 Year 11 —15th November 2018

Other Key Dates 19th September 2018 - Open Evening 2018 — 6.30pm to 8.30pm 4th October 2018 — Year 7 Settling in Evening — 5.30pm to 6.30pm 5th October 2018 — School Photos 11th October 2018 — Year 11 Post-16 Providers Evening — 6.00pm to 7.30pm 14th November 2018 — SMSC Day 25th April 2019 — SMSC Day 1st July 2019 — SMSC Day

Residential Trips Austria Ski Trip — 16th to 3rd February 2019

Extra Curricular dates for lunchtime and after-school clubs will follow in September.

Social Media Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook — as well as communicating via ParentMail, the school’s social media accounts are regularly updated with information and photos! @StalhamHigh @PeStalham @Interhouse SHS @Stalham Music

Stalham High School

@StalhamPe

Information for Year 10s GCSE Exams Timetable Summer 2019/Dates for your Diary You will note that there is a contingency day included by exam boards on 26th June. This is a new measure introduced nationally to provide a formal date for examination overspill in the event of a national incident which disrupts scheduled examinations. An example of such an event would be the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017. It is unlikely that the contingency day would need to be used but I would ask you to please keep this date clear in family diaries just in case the exam boards do need to make use of it.

As we head into the summer holidays and encourage students to take a well-earned rest, it is a good time for students to think ahead to Year 11 and to consider their approach to the most challenging year of high school life. Please stress the importance of good attendance to students and discuss approaches to early revision/further study. There will be a parents’ evening for Year 11 on 15th November and we shall be offering a revision skills evening for Year 11 students and their families on 7th March. Further details will follow.

All Year 10 students have now been introduced to the online resource GCSE Pod and have created accounts. Please discuss GCSE Pod with your child and ask them to give you a demonstration. It is a very useful tool which has been used to great extent by the last two cohorts of examination students at Stalham. If students have any issues logging in, they should see me for assistance.

Finally, I would like to congratulate our Year 10 students on the impeccable way in which they conducted themselves during our recent fortnight of formal assessments. Whilst these weren’t formal mock exams, they did give students an idea of the pressures of Year 11 and students appear to have appreciated the realism of the assessments. Formal mock exams will take place in December and March of Year 11.

We hope you enjoy the summer break and we look forward to welcoming students back for their final year at Stalham High!

Mr P Norris Assistant Headteacher: Director of Teaching & Learning

GCSE Pod: Revision for the 21st Century All year 10 students have now been introduced to GCSE Pod which is an online platform that offers revision ‘pods’ for streaming and download. These pods are short videos written and narrated by experts that cover a huge amount of topics across a full range of GCSE subjects.

Pods can be streamed or downloaded; playlists can be created and the platform is tailored to the subjects, examination boards and units covered at Stalham High. This means that there is no danger of students revising the wrong topics!

Everything is relevant and useful.

GCSE Pod can be used on phones and tablets too and this has been the preferred approach of many of our students. Our Year 11 cohort accessed content over 6500 times last year!

Students have been shown how to create an account and log in but please see me if you have any issues accessing the service.

GCSE Pod has shown that Stalham High students will always rise to a challenge and appreciate modern and innovative ways of studying and revising. The skills developed using this platform will also assist students with independent learning later in life as they learn to manage their time and process large amounts of information. The GCSE Pod website also includes details of all examination dates and can be used to plan revision effectively.

Take a look for yourself at www.gcsepod.com.

Mr P Norris Assistant Headteacher: Director of Teaching & Learning

Summer 2019 GCSE Timetable

Attendance and fixed penalty notices You will be aware that the law requires all parents and carers to ensure that their child attends school regularly.

Research has shown that children do not always catch up on work missed, which can have serious consequences for their learning and progress. The Government is very clear that all schools must aim to have the highest attendance possible for all of their students in order for them to achieve their maximum potential.

FROM 1ST SEPTEMBER 2017, the Local Authority has operated a system whereby any student will meet the criteria for legal intervention if they have:1.

2.

10 consecutive sessions (5 days) of unauthorised absence where some or all of the absence may be attributed to an unauthorised holiday in term-term (for absences from 1st September 2017); or 15% unauthorised absence over a period of 6 school weeks for reasons other than unauthorised term time holiday.

With effect from 5th September 2014, any student at Stalham High School who meets the above criteria will be referred to the Local Authority for action to be considered. Where a student has an overall attendance below 93%, the school will request medical evidence for periods marked ‘I’ (ill). Without such evidence, we will mark any missed sessions ‘O’ (unauthorised). If a student has poor attendance, in the first instance we will always work with the family to discuss any concerns they may have and help with any issues that arise. However, if attendance does not improve after constructive intervention and parents/cares do not engage with the school, we will take action as appropriate.

If a Fixed Penalty Notice is issued, each parent/carer is required to pay a fine of £60, per child, which must be paid in one payment within 21 days. If unpaid, a further invoice for £60 per parent/carer per child is issued. All individual invoices would then have to be paid making a total of £120 in 28 days per parent/carer per child.

Failure to pay the total amount within the timescale will result in legal action being taken.

As you will appreciate, we all need to work together to support our young people to attend school regularly in order for them to achieve their full potential.

Mr L McMahon Assistant Headteacher: Director of Student Support and Guidance/Trust SENCo Reporting Student absence IF YOUR CHILD IS UNEXPECTEDLY GOING TO MISS SCHOOL (E.G: ILLNESS, FAMILY EMERGENCY OR ANY OTHER ABSENCE ETC) YOU MUST: 

Phone the school office every day your child is absent and leave a message on the absence line by 9.30 a.m (01692 580281 option 1)



OR email the school Attendance Officer at crobinson@stalhamhigh.co.uk



OR send a message via ParentMail for every day your child is absent.

Miss C Robinson Cover and Attendance Administrative Assistant

Student appointments

If your child has an appointment during school hours and, as a result, will be absent from school, please remember to ask for an appointment slip or letter so that the absence can be authorised accordingly. This includes instances where students attend interviews for further education places.

If you fail to let us have a copy of the appointment slip/letter then unfortunately, the absence could be recorded as unauthorised.

Miss C Robinson Cover and Attendance Administrative Assistant

Leavers’ Day 2018 Well, the sun shone for the Class of 2018 and didn’t they look fabulous?! Year 11s and their families and friends enjoyed drinks and canapés on the lawn, brilliantly prepared and served by our Year 10 GCSE Food Preparation group, having arrived on foot or in style by cars of all ages and size. The focus this year was very much on the Class of 2018 and their families, and we wanted the local community to share in the occasion, to which end the cars had paraded along the High Street for all to see before arriving at the front entrance to the school. A red carpet led the students into the Main Hall where a number of fairground attractions awaited them, as well as a photobooth for fun group pictures and a close-up magician, who wowed us all with seemingly impossible tricks and illusions.

As usual, a great buffet was laid on by our wonderful Refectory staff and then the whole school and families joined together in the annual Graduation Assembly in the Sports Hall to present certificates and awards to Year 11. Tributes were paid to the year group and congratulations to our Award Winners Sam M-M who was awarded the Linnell Cup for Attendance, Branwen W who was awarded the Richard Dunkerley Award for Determination, Detour who won the Lions Community Award for Community Service, Annie S who won the Roy Turley Award for Sporting Achievement and Grace H who was awarded the Head of School Award.

Mr M Budgett Head of School

Leavers’ Day 2018

Leavers’ Day 2018

Grace H and Branwen W who respectively received the Head of School Award and Richard Dunkerley Award for determination. (Left)

Annie S (right) was awarded the Roy Turley Award for Sporting Achievement by ex-head, Mr Roy Turley O.B.E.

Philosophy and Ethics Summer Term During the Summer Term in Philosophy & Ethics, Year 8s have been investigating the concepts of Conflict and Peace. Our students have been learning about the causes of war, both historically and in the 21 st Century, as well as the response and development of pacifist philosophies towards conflict.

As a case study, students have spent a number of lessons considering the causes and consequences of the war in Syria; exploring the reasons for this civil war, the response of the Government and rebels over the last seven years of conflict, international reactions to the war in Syria, as well as the migrant/refugee crisis across the Middle East and Europe and the impact of ISIS across this region and beyond. I would like to thank Year 8s for their enthusiasm, interest and application during this work, reflecting on some difficult and relevant issues.

An individual task included producing a creative piece of work that explores conflict and peace through a method of their choosing, which included art, poetry, a mind map, story, etc. The response was overwhelmingly very imaginative and Year 8s produced some great pieces of work, I wish I could include many more pieces, however I am pleased to include work from: Charley C, Katie M, Eden C, Tegan C, Jasmine W, Jessica M, Keira B, Eleanor H and Lily C.

Mr C Bates Head of Philosophy and Ethics

Philosophy and Ethics Summer Term

Philosophy and Ethics Summer Term

Philosophy and Ethics Summer Term

Creative Arts East Young Promoters Concert: Zoe Gilby Quartet As a part of our programme of extra-curricular Music opportunities, we had the opportunity to take part in an exciting project organised by Creative Arts East and Youth Music. ‘Young Promoters’ is a project which offers students the chance to work alongside music industry professionals to experience training in events management. Students were provided with practical, hands-on experience to create, organise, manage and host their own live music event within their local communities. All students also had the chance to undertake their Silver Arts award, which is a Level 2 Qualification.

The project launched with a live music event at Stage Two, Norwich, on the 20th February, during which students gained an insight into how the project worked and got to meet the bands they would be organising the event for.

Following the launch event, students worked collaboratively with professionals from the Youth Music Young Promoters Project to plan, develop, promote and deliver a live event featuring the Zoe Gilby Quartet. It was a success, and the group put on a really good Jazz night, which also featured the piano talents of Israel A! Mr M Hall Head of Music

English Trip to The Old Buckenham Players The final theatre trip of the year was a visit over to Old Buckenham to see an amateur production of The Tempest a play which Year 7 have been studying as part of their English curriculum.

The students had a great time as, despite the venue being a village hall, and production being an amateur affair, the whole show was really professional and thoroughly enjoyable.

Several students commented that it made the play a lot more enjoyable to study and really brought it to life.

One great thing about going to an amateur production is that things are a lot more informal, and so our students were invited on to the stage at the end of the show to pose for pictures with the cast!

A great evening and one which we will repeat whenever such an opportunity arises.

Mr C Hole English Teacher

Stalham scientists’ competition success!

In May, a group of four Year 8 students (Maisie, Lucie, Megan and Sam) went to the University of East Anglia to participate in the Salter’s Festival of Chemistry.

They worked on two practical challenges in the University labs, competing against 14 other schools from Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

Whilst the judges considered their verdicts, the students enjoyed a demonstration lecture on kitchen chemistry which included “cooking” eggs with liquid nitrogen.

When the prize winners were announced after this, we were delighted to find out that our team had come third in one of the challenges, winning prizes for themselves and the science department. Well done to all of them!

Mrs K Trett Teacher of Science

Science and History corridors Our Science and History corridors have had a makeover—I’m sure you’ll agree that our students and staff have done an excellent job in rejuvenating these spaces whilst at the same time making learning fun!

Food and Nutrition Some of the delights prepared by Year 7s:-

Super Smoothies!

Pizza Toast!

Mrs S Dorkins Head of Technology

The Learning Support Unit

Whole school photograph

Following the retirement of Mrs Thurtell from her post as Student Manager, we are delighted to inform you that from September we will welcome Ms Lessells as our new Student Manager, meaning the LSU will once again be fully staffed.

If you would like to purchase the whole school photograph with students and staff from June 2017, this can be purchased from ParentMail or by bringing the exact money to the main office, cost is £7.50. The whole school photo is only taken once every five years and so the next photo may not be until your child has left Stalham High School. Thank you.

The School Office

Ms Lessells has undertaken work in a similar role at Sprowston High, so we are thrilled to have appointed someone with relative experience to enhance the work of the student management team. Special thanks must go to Ms Beck and Miss Searle who have worked relentlessly to ensure that the service to our students hasn’t dropped during this transitional period. The support service they offer to our students has to be seen to be believed.

Mr L McMahon Assistant Headteacher: Director of Student Support and Guidance/ Trust SENCo

Year 8 Art Superb effort from a Year 8 student in Art earlier this year—a Gingerbread cake inspired by Frederich Hundertwasser! Edible Art!

Mrs R Walker Teacher of Art

A poem; Silence The silence of the moon glowing and bright Shimmering in the sky like a light No cars driving, not a bird in sight It is so beautiful, what a silent night Rows upon rows of golden lights All standing there on a cold Winter’s night No dogs barking, or howling in the rain In the darkness, not a bit of pain Bright golden stars high in the sky I can’t see much with my weak old eye Tiny mice sneaking about All the lights have gone out Nothing here, nothing about It’s now the time for birds to come out Night is fading Fast as a flash The first car driving with a splash The silence has gone with a crash Because day is emerging And the last bit of night is submerging

By Jack M and Jayden P

#InspireStalham Astronomy Club Back in March, a party of our students took the minibus over to Reepham High School to visit the astronomy society and hear a talk on solar physics from Helen Mason, a world renowned astronomer who specialises in the study of our own sun.

After the talk the students paid a visit to the observatory, operated by Norfolk Astronomers and home to a massive newtonian reflector telescope.

In addition to the talk and the dome, our hosts put on a display of astronomy related science, as some of the senior students at Reepham worked on presenting science to the public for a school award.

A great end to the astronomy season and more friends made!

Final Astro trip to Seething

Our final trip to the observatory out at Seething combined a talk on the possibility of life on other planets with a tour of the observatory domes and some observation.

Some of us managed to see a distant galaxy, about 200 thousand light years distant!

Royal Institution Maths Masterclasses Congratulations to Henry B who attended a succession of advanced maths classes on Saturdays at a school in Norwich. His course culminated in a free trip to the Royal Institution – well done Henry, and for next year’s Year 9, look out for this opportunity in future!

#InspireStalham The Brilliant Club – Graduation

After the launch event at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University, the hard work really began and our students who had signed up to the Scholars’ Programme, with the charity the Brilliant Club, began their weekly tutorials under the guidance of their tutor, Sam Foster. Every week they did the reading, prepared the tutorial work and ultimately wrote the extended essay.

As in previous years, the graduation ceremony took place at the UEA, and parents were invited. The day was a mixture of information, tours of the university, question and answer sessions for parents and of course the final graduation where students were awarded their certificates.

We have just received the final report on our students’ performance, with data comparing them to other students doing the same programme regionally and nationally. We are delighted to report that our students’ achievements are once again well above the average for the region and the country both in terms of overall grades and in terms of progress made. Congratulations to all of these hard working students, and we look forward to next year’s cohort meeting the challenge of this programme!

Mr C Hole Teacher of English #InspireStalham Coordinator Visit from local MP Norman Lamb

Following on from the School’s Ofsted success, we were pleased to welcome local MP Mr Norman Lamb in January.

Mr Lamb met with students and toured our 'Good' school with Mrs Christine Candlish, Chair of the North Norfolk Academy Trust.

We have another visit pencilled in for Mr Lamb to meet with our Brilliant Club students in September!

Mr M Budgett Head of School

Year 10 — Careers and Guidance Over the course of two weeks, all Year 10 students had the opportunity to attend three events, to aid the process of investigating their Post 16 options. The aim was to compare a sixth form college to a college of further education and to enable students to experience courses, student life and wider opportunities.

We did this by attending:East Norfolk Sixth Form Colleges Discovery Day, students had tasters in three different subjects, including many new subjects, for example; psychology, law and textiles all delivered by the Sixth Form teachers. We spent time in the social areas and got a feel for the college whilst moving from class to class.

North Norfolk Skills & Careers Festival @ Paston College. This event was aimed at inspiring young people for their future careers and increasing awareness of their options, with over 80 different organisations exhibiting including colleges, apprenticeship providers, universities and employers. It was a great opportunity to talk 1-1 and ask questions relevant to individuals. https://www.northnorfolkskills.co.uk/

Easton and Otley College, this gave us the chance to compare a Sixth Form College to a College of Further Education. Again, we experienced three very different subjects, including equine studies, agriculture livestock and public services. We all found ourselves doing things we would never normally do, but it showed the practical nature of further education.

It is important that students are encouraged to research and explore their post-16 options in as much depth and detail as possible, ensuring they are applying for the course, colleges, apprenticeships and careers that meets their needs and levels.

I hope these opportunities gave students the encouragement to explore in more detail the options open to them.

As a school, we will provide information and support in school on how to apply to further education institutions via ‘helpyouchoose’ and the college websites.

On 11th October, we are holding a ‘Post 16 Information Evening’ for parents and students. A large number of colleges and training providers have been invited and will be ready to share lots of information.

Finally, all colleges will have open days in the Autumn Term and we would encourage students to attend these in order to gain a perspective on student life and courses at college. I will ensure the information on college open days is on our website during September.

Ms A Martin Careers and Personal Advisor Non uniform day — Friday 23rd March 2018

Thank you to those parents who have registered for ParentMail—over 90% of our parents are now registered meaning that we can send correspondence home as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.

If you have not already registered, please do so via the link previously sent to you. If you have lost the link, please contact either myself or the School Office who will arrange for it to be re-sent.

Miss. E James PA to the Head of School/Office Manager

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the non uniform day. The total raised was £303.60! As has become custom, this total was shared between a local charity (as chosen by the students) and a national charity.

Poppy Centre £212.52

Sport Relief £91.08

The Stalham High A-Z Sporting Round-up!

Athletics As always, we travelled to Gresham’s School to compete in the North Norfolk District athletics. The excited and talented squads, made up of students from Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 performed against the best competitors from schools across this region.

Students ran, jumped and threw their way to some exceptional results.

All performers gave their best but several performance were outstanding.

Louie T 100m sprint, Ali D shot putt, and James E triple and high jumps.

Success in this event for the U15s and U17s is rewarded with an invitation for Norfolk trials. Congratulations to James E who battled it out at the UEA in High Jump and Triple Jump.

Basketball We re-joined the Norwich Basketball League this year at U14 level. This is an experienced league with some Norfolk and Eastern region players. This includes one of our own, Lucy N. We knew the competition was going to be a challenge but our girls rose to it. Our teams were made up of students from Years 7 and 8 and these girls had no fear playing girls a year or two older than them.

As the season unfolded, confidence grew and this was reflected in the results and the amount of baskets we scored. Some students impressed so much they have been invited to Broadland Basketball Club!

The girls are already looking forward to next season which starts in February.

The Stalham High A-Z Sporting Round-up!

Football It has been a busy season for the boys’ and girls’ football teams. The boys competed in the North Norfolk Partnership Football League at U14 and U16 levels and the girls have competed in Norfolk’s 5-aside competition at U12, U14 and U16 levels.

It has been an extremely successful year. The U14 boys won their league. They swept aside several of our rivals and grew in confidence as a team as the year developed. Unfortunately due to the exceptionally cold February we had, a couple of games were abandoned. There were several stand out players from the season who have now been given the chance to trial for the Norfolk squad in September. Congratulations boys. It was an honour to be your manager this year.

The girls too were equally as successful. The U16 girls started off the trophy haul by winning their competition in amazing style. Undefeated and every player, even our goal-keeper scoring goals. They lifted the Norfolk Europa cup in January. This is such an outstanding achievement for these ladies with only 40 girls in their year group!

They’ve worked incredibly hard over the last five years and it has certainly paid off.

The U12 girls, after seeing this success wanted to get in on the action too. Their road to success culminated in nail-biting penalties and a change of goal-keeper due to injury but they too won their competition and lifted the U12 Europa cup in June. Some potential future Lionesses? Fingers crossed!

We have had NCFC Community Sports Foundation in school all year leading a KS3 football club. Paul, the coach, has helped develop around 30 students’ football skills and enjoyment over the year. Due to the success of this year’s club, they will be back in September on Mondays and Thursdays from 3.10 to 4.15pm

The Stalham High A-Z Sporting Round-up!

Handball This is a sport that we have added to our curriculum this year due to its accessibility for all and it now appearing as a GCSE sport. There was a change in the competition format this year, which saw it move from NCFC Community Sports Foundation to Sprowton High School taking the lead. Several of our teams competed in friendly competitions and Norfolk qualifiers. We are very lucky at Stalham High—even though we are very small in comparison to the schools we compete against, our students comfortably performed and challenged for good positions in these competitions. The U13 and U15 boys and U13 girls all made it out of the group stages into the play offs. Unfortunately, we narrowly missed out on making any of the finals. It is always a very proud moment when staff from other schools comment of the talent of the students in your squad. Well done, Maisie R, Lucy N and James E for being highlighted by other PE teachers for being awesome.

Netball This season, the schools in our local area decided that, instead of playing individual matches, we would all come together on a Thursday and play mini tournaments. These proved to be much more fun, more development made and teachers were able to assist with a little bit of coaching. Our U12s and U16s visited either Aylsham or Reepham High to play in these fixtures.

For the U12s, it was all about finding what worked best, having fun and enjoying the game of Netball. For the U16s, it was about fine tuning their skills ready for their Netball assessment as part of the GCSE course. For some students this was the first time that they represented the school. A lot was learnt and we intend to use Netball season as a warm up to our Basketball season next year.

Rounders

Again we played in lots of mini rounders tournaments this year. This time at Reepham High.

Our U12 and U13 squads played some solid rounders and had some very good results. In particular, our U12 squad absolutely smashed everyone in their first ever tournament as a team. All the girls that played were a credit to the school. Well done ladies!

Sports Day 2018 This is without a doubt one of the most highly anticipated days of the school year. The buzz around school for the few weeks leading up to the event slowly grows and grows. The big question on everyone’s lips this year was, could anybody finally put an end to Cavell house off their three year winning streak? The new House Leaders expertly divided out the events between their students, carefully ensuring that they had a candidate who could take that coveted first place position.

This year’s event did not disappoint. We had glorious weather for both track and field days and the atmosphere around the school was electric. It is always an honour to see our students perform well, but I am most proud of the way in which they conducted themselves and encouraged others on this day. It is heart-warming.

Our stand-out performers this year were Lorne B for breaking the Year 7 800m and 1500m records, Eve A for breaking the Year 7 girls’ high jump record and Kieran M for breaking the Year 9 boys’Javelin record.

Due to the support of the students, the day ran efficiently which enabled us to enter a new race; a selected team of house allstars, which involved a student from each year group who had impressed the PE department on the track throughout the athletic season. The four houses then battled it out against an 8-strong staff team. Congratulations to Pinsent who won this event, however, the highlight of this particular event was seeing Jenna N beat Mr Majid down the final straight. The excitement and joy on her face really summed up the feeling of the day of me.

Sports Day 2018

The final results standings were:1st – Fry house 547 points 2 – Cavell house 541 points 3rd – Nelson house 489 points 4th – Pinsent house 458 points nd

Congratulations Fry House! It has been a difficult 7 years, but your perseverance and resilience has resulted in not only the closest Sports Day ever hosted at the school, but you finally winning the prize that you have deserved for several years.

Miss C Zeebroek Head of PE/ Lead Teacher for Cavell & Fry

House Leaders and Deputy Leaders

This May we invited Year 10 students to apply for the position of House Leader and Deputy Leader. This is a robust process for those students wishing to become a House Leader. Selection is a threestage process—application, (the short-listing of applicants is then undertaken by the House Leaders), a House Leaders Day at Hautbois Hall with team building activities and which then culminate in a formal interview with Heads of House and a member of the Senior Leadership Team. This year’s successful applicants were:-

Mr M Hall Head of Music Lead Teacher for Nelson & Pinsent Inter-house Students this year have used not only their practical sporting ability but their brains to win points for their houses. This years competitions have been:- Gene decoding, Dodgeball, Maths decoding, the Christmas Quiz, designing a hamper based on films, collecting food items for the local food bank, Badminton, Benchball, Cross country, a dance display, Rounders, attendance and merits. I am always looking for new ideas so if there is something you would like to do next year, please come and see me and we will try to get it on the program.

This years cup finished:1st - 3,974.5 2nd - 3,780.5 3rd - 3,659.5 4th - 3,592 Miss C Zeebroek Head of PE/ Lead Teacher for Cavell & Fry

Form Ambassadors This year we introduced the role of Form Ambassador. Students either applied for this position or were asked to by their Form Tutor. There is a representative from each form and Ambassadors meet each half term with a different member of the Senior Leadership Team to discuss a variety of school wide issues. This year, they have looked at, discussed and put across the views of their peers on:    

The form time programme Anti bullying Food provision in the Refectory Reading for enjoyment Decorating and maintenance choices around the school

These students have been instrumental in providing the whole student body a voice. The suggestions they have given have been exceptionally well presented. Well done!

Finley Brown PMS

Russell Hopkins CMH

Ewan Smith CLA

CAVELL Daniel Leggett CDM

Cameron Mileham CRB

Maddy Lee FBW

Jasmine Jacques FPM

Liam Jex PJM

PINSENT Millie Feakins PRW

Ben Patterson PCH

FRY Ali Doe FCG

Josh Gerber NSK

Eleanor Harman FCT

Shanelle Hewitt NAD

NELSON Chloe Blake NCB

Diogo Graca NJR Miss C Zeebroek Head of PE Lead Teacher for Cavell and Fry

Information for Year 7s starting with us in September!

It’s your first day!

Where should you go?

On your first day, when the warning bell goes at 8.30am for Form Time, please make your way to the Main Hall where you will be met by your Form Ambassador.

Below is a handy list of our Form Tutors and where their form rooms are:-

House Cavell Cavell Cavell

Form CDM CLA CMH

Tutor Mr D Majid Miss L Adams Miss M Hanley

Cavell Fry Fry Fry Fry Nelson Nelson

CRB FBW FCG FCT FPM NAD NCB

Miss R Barrell Mrs B Walton Mrs C Galloway Mrs C Trett Mr P Marshall Mrs A Davison Mr C Bates

Nelson Nelson

NJR NSK

Mrs J Rollason Miss S Kent

Pinsent Pinsent Pinsent Pinsent

PCH PJM PMS PRW

Mr C Hole Mr J Messenger Miss M Sheldrick Mrs R Walker

Cover Tutor

Mrs Emby (Weds-Thurs), Miss Cutler (Mon, Fri) Mr Heward (Thursday) Mr Tetebo (Wednesday)

Mrs Brownsword (Wednesday) Mrs Brownsword (Tuesday)

When will the bells go?

Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of which bell is ringing why and at what time!

Time

Which bell?

What to do?

8.30am

Warning bell

Go to Form

8.35am

Form time bell

You should be in form by now!

8.55am

Period 1

Make your way to your Period 1 lesson

9.55am

Period 2

Make your way to your Period 2 lesson

10.55am

Break

It’s break time!

11.20am

End of break/Period 3

Make your way to your Period 3 lesson

12.20pm

Period 4

Make your way to your Period 4 lesson

1.20pm

Lunch

It’s lunch time!

1.55pm

Warning bell

Start making your way to your Period 5 lesson

2.00pm

End of lunch/Period 5

You should be in Period 5 by now!

3.00pm

End of day

Home time!

Form Room 11 7 3 14 22 23 5 29 8 12

24 9 27 2 6 33

Lockers For those students who have requested lockers, your locker key will be ready for you to pick up at break and lunchtime on your first day.

If you haven’t requested a locker but decide at a later date that one might be a good idea, don’t despair!

There are plenty of lockers available for all of our students so just contact Mrs Lewis who will be happy to assign a locker to you.

The Refectory During your first week, we will arrange for your thumbprint to be registered at the Refectory. Once registered, you will be able to pay for your food by thumbprint!

Your refectory account can be topped up online via ParentMail. Alternatively, you can bring cash into school and top up via the machine in the Refectory using either a pin number or thumbprint.

The Everest Challenge - 5th/6th July Our annual two main Transition Days brought our new Year 7s together for a challenge event based around the climbing of Mount Everest. Working together in what will be their Houses, led by their Year 10 House Leaders, they embarked upon seven different lessons which explored such topics as Insulation (Science), Sounds of remote areas (Music), “Was Everest first summited in 1953 or 1924?” (History), Calculating the numbers involved in climbing Everest (Maths), the Geography of the area, creative writing, describing equipment needed in French, and a final ‘Push to the Summit’ physical problemsolving team challenge in the Sports Hall.

To add to the experience, the scene for the challenge was set by Mr Majid who gave an illustrated presentation about his personal experience of climbing to Camp 2 on Everest with the 2012 Walking With The Wounded Expedition.

All of the children showed great commitment to the challenge and responded well to their House Leaders who must be credited with being fantastic ambassadors for the school in helping to set and maintain the expectations, as well as providing helpful and friendly advice on life at the school – and making sure everyone was where they should be on time!

Our staff were delighted at the high level of ability shown by the new Year 7s and we look forward to them starting in September!

Mr M Budgett Head of School

Deep Learning Day 2 — 20th February 2018 We held the second of our Deep Learning Days on Tuesday 20th February. This saw our Year 11s spend the day in Science focusing on Microbiology with Professor Colin Murrell from the UEA. Our Year 10s spent the day in English and Maths whilst a Careers Day was held for our Year 9 students. Our Year 8s had a Healthy Living Day and Year 7s experienced life as a monk at Norwich Cathedral.

Year 10s — English and Maths Our Year 10 students split into two groups for Deep Learning Day 2 and rotated between English and Maths. Mr Tetebo, Chief Engineer for the day, orchestrated a fun engineering task for the Year 10 maths group, making cars out of balloons and bottles!

Deep Learning Day 2 — 20th February 2018 Year 9s - Careers Day Ms Martin, our Careers and Personal Advisor, once again organised a fantastic Careers Day for our current Year 9s.

We had over 15 providers visit the school ranging from further education institutions, such as colleges and Sixth Forms, to employers ranging from the Broads Authority and Police Force to jewellery making and accountancy.

Each student chose their ‘top five’ interests and spent 20 minutes speaking to the providers about the skills and grades required in order for them to either pursue the courses they wished to take or the career paths they wished to follow.

Deep Learning Day 2 — 20th February 2018 Year 8s - Healthy Living Day Our Year 8s spent the second of our Deep Learning Days learning about healthy eating, having a brisk two mile beach walk (in less than favourable weather conditions!) which included a trip to Sea Palling Lifeboat Station and learning First Aid from Stalham & Smallburgh First Responders.

Cooking a healthy breakfast:-

A (very) brisk beach walk followed by a trip to Sea Palling Lifeboat Station.

Deep Learning Day 2 — 20th February 2018 Year 8s - Healthy Living Day cont’d…./ Another very enjoyable day yesterday with Year 8s. First aid, correct use of emergency services, choking, CPR all taken in their stride. Very impressed by how much knowledge many of the students have retained on these subjects and particularly how well they were prepared to participate and demonstrate the application of life-saving techniques.

Well Done to them.

Mr T Thirst Stalham Ambulance First Responders

Deep Learning Day 3 — 10th May 2018 The third and final of our Deep Learning Days, saw our Year 11s spend the day in English and Maths whilst our Year 10s had a Careers Employability Day. Year 9s took part in a disaster relief exercise with the Army and Year 8 went into Norwich to visit Norwich Cathedral. Finally, our Year 7s had a Coastal Safety Day at Sea Palling.

Year 10 Employability Day On Thursday 10th May, all Year 10 students at Stalham High School took part in an Employability Day with volunteer mentors and interviewers from local businesses. A fantastic mix of group mentoring sessions, CV preparation, presentations and mock interviews saw the students develop and improve their soft skills to better prepare them for ‘realworld’ work. Presentations from the UEA; East Norfolk 6th Form College; Steve Thurlow Consulting; North Norfolk District Council and Daniel Smith (proprietor of The Ingham Swan, The Wildebeest Arms and Warwick Street Social) all talked about the importance of the student’s personal brand. Who are they? What skills do they have that would make employers notice them? How can they improve and practice these skills to improve their chances in the world of work? The District Council helped the students to understand the local labour market and the local job and sector opportunities available.

Steve Thurlow of Steve Thurlow Consulting used the amusing analogy of the ‘perfect sandwich’ to emphasise the importance of tailoring your approach to interviews and CVs to different job opportunities and employers. “What makes you the perfect sandwich for your employer?

Do you have good employability skills like communication, presentation, leadership, resilience? (the bread); do you have the skills necessary for the job, i.e. what is the employer looking for? (the filling); and do you have that extra something, a passion for a subject, great preparation or a willingness to learn (a fancy mayo or chutney!)

Daniel Smith, who was locally educated gave a unique perspective about the catering and hospitality industry. He spoke about his journey and what he looks for in recruits to his businesses. He also talked about the realities, and the ups and downs of owning a business. Daniel said ‘the best legacy I can hope for is that my staff go on to achieve more than I have – that’s the dream!’ The most important thing he is looking for in a recruit, no matter their age, is enthusiasm and a willingness to try and learn. “Work/life balance is important, but you have to put the work in to get what you want out.”

Each Year 10 student was given the opportunity to put all they learnt into practice with five minute interviews with a mentor they had not met. They were asked about their skills and experiences and expected to act professionally throughout. All of the students did incredibly well and the employers were very impressed. Each student received individual feedback about their performance and will be given an opportunity to work on and develop their employability skills throughout the remainder of their time at Stalham High School.

A huge thank you to Mrs Martin for all of her hard work in pulling the day together and for the volunteer businesses who gave up their time to help.

Hannah Colledge Norfolk County Council - Enterprise Coordinator (North Norfolk, South Norfolk & Gt Yarmouth)

Deep Learning Day 3 — 10th May 2018 Year 10 Employability Day cont’d…./ The awards ceremony following on from our Employability Day was held on 23 rd May. The awards were part of the Deep Learning Day Employability Day which we unfortunately did not have time to hand out on the day.

The feedback from providers was very positive and the areas for improvement were discussed this morning.

A very big congratulations to:Caitlin B, Chris D, Cameron S, Rebecca B, Jenna N, James E, Morgan R-H, Olivia H, Darcy B, Eve D and Bethany S who each received the Mentor's Most Employable Award. The comments from the Mentors were good eye contact, contributed, pro-active approach, engaged, articulated, good questions, enthusiastic and leadership qualities.

Max L, Chris D, Cameron S, Rebecca B, Jenna N, Elizabeth C, Loklan R, Alice D, Jessica T, Freya C and Callum S who received the Interviewer's Most Employable Award. The comments from Interviewers were talked about knowledge and experience, career goals, how to improve weaknesses, good communication skills, interested in progression, motivated, related skills to job outside interests, realistic and had researched the role.

This is fantastic feedback for our Year 10s - well done!!!

Deep Learning Day 3 — 10th May 2018 Year 9 DLD STEM Challenge The brief for our Year 9s as part of the STEM challenge was to build a robot that could deliver disaster relief and build an earthquake-proof structure— a great effort from all involved!

Mrs A Davison Head of Science

Mobile phone usage during school hours

Important medical information

Please remind your child that they should not be using their mobile phone to contact you if they are distressed or feeling ill when at school. Students who need to contact home, should make their way to Student Reception who will then contact home, as required.

Please can we advise you that if your child requires medication during school hours, a form must be completed by you as the parent/carer, signed, and handed in to reception together with the medication in the packaging or container that it has been dispensed or purchased in.

Similarly, if you need to contact your child in an emergency, please do so through Reception. We need to know in both situations.

Medication must not be removed and placed in any other container, envelope etc and under no circumstances must it be carried by the student. The only exception to this would be an inhaler for emergency use however, a relevant form for this must also be completed. All medication administered in school is recorded by the administrative staff. No medication can be given without written and/or verbal consent.

Thank you for your support in this matter.

Our present policy is to educate students in the appropriate use of mobile phones. Use in the classroom remains forbidden unless the teacher has permitted this for research purposes. Phones being misused will be confiscated for parental collection, if necessary.

Mr. M Budgett Head of School

Student Care Plan If your child has a recognised condition, i.e. a Migraine, and you report this to the school, you will be required to complete a Care Plan for in-school use together with an Administration of Medicine in School form.

The School Office

Iceland 2018

Curriculum Enhancement Week 9th to 13th July 2018 What a packed week that was!

Year 7s spent much of the week engaged on a Science Technology Engineering Maths (STEM) challenge involving a day on each of:   

Building a Self-Powered Car Responding to a disaster relief challenge including programming robots to carry out associated tasks Creating Stop/Go Animation films.

In addition, on Monday, their Creative Writing skills were put to the test for a day.

Year 8s and Year 9s spent a whole day in each of their four new Key Stage 4 Additional subject areas which, for Year 9, included a successful, if long, trip to London to visit The Crystal / Thames Barrier / Emirates Cable Car (Geographers) and the Imperial War Museum (Historians).

Year 10s had two days of visits to College provisions at East Norfolk 6 th Form College, and Easton & Otley College. In addition, they spent a day working in their chosen Core Humanity subject completing vital Fieldwork, and they also followed up on Careers work from Deep Learning Day 3. A lasting impact was made by a presentation given by Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service entitled The Vital Four, which explored the four main causes of fatalities for young people in cars – some hard-hitting images and messages which will hopefully help our students stay safe in the years ahead, both as passengers and drivers.

Years 7&8 and Years 9&10 respectively, combined for either a great day out at Pleasurewood Hills, or engaged in some great community-based projects which brought high impact to the recipients of their efforts. The areas of focus were: 

 

 

Sydney House Care Home afternoon tea - students spent the morning baking cakes and muffins under the watchful eye of Mrs Dorkins, and then took them to serve to residents at our local Care Home. Residents and students thoroughly enjoyed the time together chatting and enjoying the products of a good morning in the kitchen! (see pictures below) Catfield Primary Mural – a group of artists, led by Mrs Walker, created a fantastic tree mural (see picture) which features the handprints of all the children in Catfield Primary School.

GroundForce - students worked tirelessly with Mrs StJohn to clear and rejuvenate overgrown areas of the school gardens and vegetable plots with great results – apart from disturbing a wasps’ nest which tested the resilience of year 10s Callum and Jack who received no less than 22 and 24 stings each, but continued to work after treatment!

Talk about Growth Mind Set! DIY SOS – teams of students worked with Mr Marshall to renovate seating benches and planters from around the school site, and also create over a dozen bird boxes which will be positioned in the trees on site to encourage nesting birds next season.

Lest we forget – a fantastic display to commemorate the fallen of Stalham in the Two World Wars has been created in the History corridor by students under the guidance of Miss Kent.

Curriculum Enhancement Week 9th to 13th July 2018

Year 9 students’ final desserts after their GCSE taster day; mini meringues, fruit coulis, tempered chocolate, and honeycomb.

Mr M Budgett Head of School