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Message from the Principal
I wish to thank the parents and careers that attended the recent Year 9 Pathways evening.
We received a 80% turnout and wish to acknowledge the support that you provided in helping your child being guided to make the correct pathway choice. I know that some parents were unable to attend for various reasons so we aim to support your child and you through this very important process. New uniform On Thursday, through the support of staff and students we have launched the modelling our new uniform. The reaction has been incredibly positive and welcoming from the students. Fourteen students will model the uniform next half term so students and you can see how we are engaging and listening to students so they buy into this process. The new uniform will be compulsory for all:
Optional (but we encourage) for years 8-11
Not permitted: The polo shirt will not be allowed alongside all other non-permitted items as part of our current uniform policy. The blazer with the new school logo for incoming year 7 will be compulsory alongside the new PE kit. Details to follow after half term. We anticpate that the new uniform items will be available from Chroma sport during May and June so and you as parents can begin to purchase with enough lead time. The cost compared to the old uniform is listed below. I trust that you embrace as the students are the new and exciting smarter uniform. I welcome your and the students’ feedback over the next half term so we will be in apposition to share with you the definitive uniform list.
Bryan Erwin This weeks Letters Home
GCSE Art
Some year 10 GCSE Art students have been exploring etching and using a printing press this week. The etchings are inspired by the artist Pablo Picasso. The outcomes have been really pleasing and students have all enjoyed playing with the new process. Thank you to Mrs Graham for all her hard work and enthusiasm with this workshop.  Mrs L Bamber Careers Update
This past half term has been very busy for the Careers Team. There have been trips to University Centre Peterborough for Year 9 students which involved a careers fair and workshops based around university life. All Year 9 students have also been involved in “Guess the Professional” workshops where they speak to various different professionals and guess their job role, many thanks to Morgan Sindall, Travelex, Ab Agri, West Suffolk University and Coca Cola for supporting this event. Year 9 students have also been involved in workshops helping them prepare to choose their options for GCSE’s, these workshops explore career pathways and job roles within chosen sectors. Year 10 students have been involved in a Business Networking Event where they get to speak to different businesses and ask questions about the interview process and opportunities within that company. Our Year 11 students have experienced a taster day in Post 16 or at Stamford College and are currently having one to one interviews regarding their future pathway. If you are having conversations at home with your child regarding their future you may find the UCAS website www.UCAS.co.uk useful. You can explore university courses and there is an area to explore careers and job roles within that sector. Please do also visit our own website and in the careers section you will find Year specific information relevant to Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance. This area is very new and we are adding information on a monthly basis. If you have a child in Year 11 or Post 16 who is thinking of applying for apprenticeships, we also have a guide for parents and students which will be available on our website by 1st March. I also have paper copies available to any student who would like one. Mrs A Ayre Wellbeing Newsletter
This half term we have created and produced a mental health and well being parent guide with some top tips for supporting your child and where to access support inside and outside school.  Copies of the booklet were distributed to parents at our Year 9 pathways evening, to access this document please click here.
The well-being team have recognised 'Time to Talk Day' which aims to encourage people to have a conversation about mental health. Tutor groups were given a conversation starter, which asked them to talk about how your mental health is affected during holidays. Our staff were also invited to a coffee morning on the day, hosted by our well-being ambassadors, staff enjoyed coffee and cakes, there were lots of smiles and conversations from both staff and the students that helped out.  Our well-being ambassadors have been running a Valentines stall this week, selling raffle tickets and sweet cones, raising money for our student well-being fund. Our well-being group meet every Wednesday and Thursday during Break 2 in the library and all students are free to drop in for a chat.  To keep up to date with the activities that the well-being group are doing please follow our Facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/Ken-Stimpson-Community-School-Wellbeing-Group-333458157270527/ Wellbeing Group KS4 Art Trip to London/Peterborough
Last week the Art Department and a number of KS4 Art students went out on two trips, London and Peterborough, to gather research for their up and coming Art exams. On Monday Y10 and Y11 Art Students experienced the many sites and delights of London and visited the Tate Art galleries. It is always such a joy to see the real thing. A highlight I believe was the long coach journey down and back again where students were entertained by a very enthusiastic bus driver! On Tuesday Mrs Gregg and myself took an number of Y11 Art students around Peterborough City Centre to visit the Cathedral and Museum. There is so much interesting history linked to Peterborough. The students particularly enjoyed the Museum and a game of hide and seek!  Mr Housley Year 11 Science News
It's half term already! We teachers know how hard most of you work during the term, and how hard you plan to work over the holiday. Some of you may have decided to attend Mr Walji's Combined Science revision session on Tuesday, while some prefer to work alone.
Mrs Young Year 9 Curriculum Pathways Process 2018-19
May I thank all the parents/carers and students for their attendance to our Year 9 Curriculum Pathways event on Tuesday 12/2/19. If you were unfortunately unable to attend this event, we undertook an assembly with Year 9 students on Wednesday 13/2/19 and passed them their Pathways packs to them, which contains the curriculum booklet and pathways forms. Year 9 is a very important time as the following 2 years of the curriculum will lead to a range of qualifications at the end of Year 11. These GCSE qualifications will enable students to progress on to further courses in our Sixth Form or College Courses. It is vital that correct choices are made. Our aim is to ensure that all students are on GCSE courses that:-
Important Dates in the Process: Monday 25/2/19 to Friday 8/3/19 - Year 9 Pathway interviews for each student and their parent/carer with a Leadership Team member or House Staff member. Thursday 14/3/19 - This is the deadline for the Year 9 Pathways forms to be handed into tutors for Mrs Boughton. We wish all our Year 9 students a productive time in researching and choosing their Pathways to Success. Mrs H Boughton GCSE Maths
With only 10 weeks until the first set of Exams, students should be well on their way to revising. If they haven't yet started it is not too late to begin. For Maths, students should be revising SMART using their PLCs to specifically target their individual areas of weakness. This can be done using the multiple resources they have access to. Maths academic catch up continues to run on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for all years. As well as all Maths staff taking revision sessions I am in 3U23 on each of these days primarily helping students with areas they are struggling with on the PiXL Maths app.
One area that continues to frustrate me is the fact that students throw away silly marks due to either not having the right equipment or not knowing how to use it correctly. A cause of this issue for some is they do not bring the equipment to school with them every day to learn how to use it. If students do not have the correct equipment it can now be purchased using the school ParentPay system. Pencil cases with all essential equipment (pencil, ruler, rubber, sharpener, protractor and compass) are available for £3.00 and scientific calculators for £7.00 each.
Every week I continue to send out resources students can start using at home called the final countdown, this may seem premature but their are only 54 teaching days to the first summer Exam and revising gradually is much more effective than last minute cramming. Using the countdown alongside the PiXL Maths app and other revision resources will really make the difference to closing the gap on areas students still have issues with. Please find attached week 1 of the new for 2019 extra questions students can do at home with the support of parents as mark schemes and examiners reports are also attached. These are now split into two types of questions, one designed for foundation students aiming for a 4 or 5 and the new one for higher tier students aiming for grades 6 to 9. Every week I will continue to attach five topics that regularly appear on examinations. Students can also use their individualised PLCs on the the PiXL Maths app to target areas of weakness, using the video tutorials and PowerPoints to help them better understand topics.
Revision guides are also available in school at cost price, saving you more than 50% on the rrp. There are 3 books at £2.50 each and an answer book for £1. Please see your class teacher, Miss Harvey, or Mr Donnelly if you have paid for them through Parent Pay.
The final PPE exams will start on the 11th March which is only 15 teaching days away!
Mr L Donnelly February Half Term Revision Sessions
 Mr Hussain    |
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