Assemblies week beginning 12th March
Theme: Litter
These assemblies will be led by the school Council
Thought for the week
‘I hate the hand that comes out of a car and just drops litter in the street. I hate that! For some reason, it just fills me with fury! It’s just utter laziness, lack of interest in other people, lack of interest in the planet, in the hedgehog who might eat the plastic bag, it’s a lack of concern.’ Joanna Lumley
Dates for your diary
13/3/2018 Year 9 Parents Evening
22/3/2018 Year 10 Parents Evening
Headteacher blog:
This week, year 7 and 8 students from Oldfields, Windsor Park and Ryecroft Middle Schools joined us for our Business and Enterprise day. At the end of the day, they took the stage to promote the individual businesses they had developed during the day. Public speaking is always challenging, and I would like to congratulate all involved: the children spoke with passion and conviction. Thank you to Mrs Featherstone, our Head of Business Studies, for organising such a fantastic opportunity.
I am fortunate to be able to attend the Association of School Leaders’ National Conference this weekend along with a number of the senior team members from Thomas Alleyne’s. One of the keynote speeches focused on the challenges which social media presents us as parents and teachers.
Mrs Catterall has recently delivered an assembly to support students’ understanding of the importance of their online profile and how anything posted, or ‘liked’, or ‘retweeted’ will be visible to companies who look to employ them in the future. Before they post anything online, students should consider whether they would be comfortable if their parents and teachers were to see what they are posting. If the answer to this question is no – we urge them not to post.
When listening to Andy Burrows from NSPCC, he asked us to ask for parental support in protecting children online. He explained, “That means parents talking to their children about their online lives.” Please feel confident in taking an active role in your child’s online behaviour and supporting them in how they post and how they act online. No post is ever deleted.
Finally a couple of parents have asked whether GCSEpods streaming is compulsory. We are keen for students to develop strong habits of independent learning: some will have alternative techniques which they wish to use. GCSEpod, however is one of the many strategies that we recommend. Thank you to all parents who attended the revision evening with Tim Benton this week we hope you found it supportive.
As I have been moving around the school this week I have been filled with pride to see so many of our Year 12 and 13 students working independently. They are ensuring that they are in the best position to succeed by making the most if their time at school. I would like to encourage all students to ensure that they have a revision plan in place if they are in Year 13 and that all students are creating revision materials on a regular basis. Some of the students that I have taught in recent years have been successful in their A Levels due to the commitment to their studies. This is a positive way to move towards their exams rather than leave all revision until the last minute.
Next week we at taking all the Year 12 students to Manchester to the UCAS convention. This will give all students the opportunity to speak to over 100 University providers as well as organisations offering Advanced and Higher Level Apprenticeships.
All information on how the Year 12’s can register is on Insight, all students must have a pass either downloaded on to their phones or print the ticket out. We encourage all students to explore both of these pathways to ensure that they are fully informed in preparation for Year 13 and the UCAS application. I have provided a link for you to look at which explains all information needed to understand the function and the benefits of the schemes.
I have shown my Year 12 History group the wonders of Unifrog and given them a brief demonstration as to the benefits of this programme. When we brief the students on this we will also invite parents in to the school to give you a demonstration to show you how wonderful it is. It is a one stop shop to students who are interested in Universities or Apprenticeships.
Year 10 Future Intentions Day
Year 10 experienced their first Future Intentions day on Monday. Despite the remnants of the previous weeks weather, speakers from the business community along with the Armed Forces and a big yellow bus all gathered at school where students took part in activities designed to develop their skills when looking at and deciding on future career paths. Activities included team-building, engaging with employers and further education providers as well as challenges on the apprenticeship bus. The day finished with past students sharing their journeys from GCSE to apprenticeships and degrees.
School Council
The school council are busy this term working on ways we can improve our school. The school council meeting on the 26th February saw students going to Uttoxeter town hall to meet Town Mayor Alison Trenery and Borough Councilllor Sue Mcgarry. Students learnt about local democracy and held their meeting in the council rooms where they were able to discuss issues that concerned the town regarding young people. They discussed the need for shops and market stalls for young people, the need for a shelter or space for young people to meet in the town centre, issues of poor behaviour by young people and policing, school and service buses and a range of holiday activities for teenagers. School councillors have also been busy preparing for assembly next week which they are delivering on the theme of picking up litter.
Kidzania National Enterprise Challenge!
On Thursday 150 year 7 and 8 students from Windsor Park, Oldfields and Ryecroft came to Thomas Alleynes to participate in the Ryman National Enterprise Challenge. The four facilatators from the organisation were great fun and the students worked on developing a new concept for Kidzania in London. All students worked exceptionally hard and all of their ideas were fantastic, with ten teams being selected to present their ideas at the end of the day.
The presentations put together by the students were of a high standard and it was tough for the judges to choose a winning team.
The winning team had two students from each middle school and they had put together an idea to collaborate with Apple! This team will attend a National final in June and we will be working with them to develop their idea in preparation for this event. Watch this space for photos of the challenge next week!
Thank you to all our sixthform and year ten volunteers who helped run the day and to the staff from the middle schools for bringing them along! It really was an enjoyable day!
News from PE
Versatility Netball Champions
Thomas Alleyne’s participated in Miss Jones’ favourite netball tournament of the year at Deferrers on Tuesday. The versatility tournament involves students from multiple year groups making up the team positions for an interesting tactical battle. Tilly Edwards, Jaz Sutton, Ellie Allcock, Lottie Cooper, Eve Bednall and Freya and Amelia Hadgett were selected for this battle.
First up saw Paget and Robert Sutton which were games won by convincing score lines 15-2 and 13-2 allowing all girls to play different court positions. The remaining four fixtures saw Jaz and Tilly putting in some gigantic performances in the D, rotating around the roles GD, GA & GS. Eve was a constant as centre where she controlled the game with a range of passes and composure with the ball. The goals rained in with wins against John Port 12-5, Deferrers B 12-2, John Taylor 13-0 with Ellie, Lottie, Jaz and Tilly gaining good positions to shoot. The toughest game was the last round robin match against Deferrers A the Hadgett twins put in fantastic defensive performances winning the ball from Deferrers centre pass and in the Goal third. The game was never in doubt as the team played with the same confidence seen in the previous fixtures and soon built a gap in the score and then continued to score off our own centre pass to amass a 12-8 victory.
It was a fitting tribute to Jemima Millican who finished her TAHS umpiring career with a winners medal along with the rest of the girls.
Cheerleading
Another really successful week at cheerleading practice on Wednesday with over 30 pupils attending. We learnt a difficult and scary new skill, called prep and cradle but everyone was really hardworking and most of all safe! Well Done everyone.
Check out this fantastic video of the group showing off thier skills:
GCSE PE Practical Assessments
These are well underway – next weeks activities
Netball Tuesday 13th March 3.05-4.30
Swimming Wednesday 14th March 1.20-2.30
Trampolining Wednesday 14th March 3.05-4.30
Badminton Wednesday 14th March 3.05-4.30
Basketball Thursday 15th March 1.20-2.05
Rugby Thursday 15th March 3.05-4.30
Table Tennis Friday 16th March 3.05-4.30
Futsal County Final
On Tuesday Year 9 Boys are in the Futsal county finals at Fenton Manor- qualifying team are,
Freddie Whitehead, John Ball, Harry Van Hoek, Callum Stockbridge, Tommy Mangon, Jed Brunt, Sam Cope, George Beech, George Twigge
Uttoxeter Bulls Basketball Club – Are running an Easter Camp
W
HAT? Junior & senior basketball camp
AGES? 9-15 and 16+
WHEN? 31st Mar – 2nd Apr
WHERE? Uttoxeter Leisure Center
TIME? 11am-3pm
HOW MUCH? £25 PP or £10 per day
Science News
British Science Week has already begun in the Science Department with the ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ style quiz for Year 8 students from our Middle Schools and house teams from Thomas Alleyne’s.
The overall winner of the Middle school quiz was the team from Windsor Park Middle School and the runners-up were Ryecroft Middle School.
The Thomas Alleyne’s House competition was won by Elkes, the runners-up were Whitmore, and in third place was Torrence and fourth place Orme.
The overall winning Thomas Alleyne’s team consisted of Jay Huges-Ratcliffe and Kieran Coates.
Very well done!
A range of fascinating, intriguing and explosive activities will take place next week in the Department.
Join us at lunchtime on:
- Tuesday 13th March for some real Rocket Science with Mr Melland in Room 50 at 1.30pm
- Wednesday 14th March for Explosive Chemistry with Mr Crum in Room 52 at 1.30pm
- Thursday 15th March for a rat dissection with Mrs Swinson in Room 55 at 1.30pm
This week’s Science Students of the week selected by Mr Milward are:
Year 9
Gabby Johnson and Sophie Whieldon for excellent effort
Year 10
Bailey Holder and Isabelle Warlow for attainment and good test scores
Year 11
Maddie Woodfield and Nick Jakes for excellent effort
Well done!
Online Safety
Advice for parents and carers in starting conversations about on line safety
Also please see the assembly delivered by Mrs Catterall here for further information and guidance:
Tim Benton Addresses Pupil & Parents
On Wednesday year 11 and a number of parents were fortunate enough to listen to Tim Benton. He was very well received as he gave the parents and pupils advice on how to be successful in the next few months. Tim appreciated the attitude of many of our pupils as they engaged with him. Please find attached a summary of his key points and ideas.
Up Coming Parents Evenings
YEAR 9 PARENTS EVENING – Tuesday 13th March, from 4.00pm.
This Tuesday we look forward to welcoming Year 9 parents to our consultation evening. Please ensure that you son / daughter has made appointments with their teachers through the Insight booking system. If you have any difficulties please contact their Head of House.
YEAR 10 PARENTS EVENING – Thursday 22nd March, from 4.00pm.
Bookings are now being made for Year 10 Parents evening. Please make bookings through Insight, if you have any concerns please contact your child’s Head of House.
Your Staffordshire Card
We have received the following information regarding Your Staffordshire Cards:….
From the 1st April 2018 there will be a change in the bus fare charges for holders of Your Staffordshire Card bus passes, which some pupils use to travel to and from school on local bus services at a set lower fare.
From the 1st April 2018 the fare for the under 16 Your Staffordshire Card holders is increasing to £1.30 in line with the fare for the 16 to 20 card holders.
Please could you advertise this increase in bus fares on your school web sites etc. Where possible there have already been e-mails sent to card holder applicants and the bus companies have been informed. Further information and details of how to obtain or renew a card can be found on the web-site yourstaffordshirecard.info
Please direct any queries from card holders and parents to the web site not to school transport.
Careers
Don’t forget to check out the new careers page on tahsroundup.wordpress.com
This week information on:
Medicine Taster Days @ Keele
Direct Page Link
Links
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