TAHS Weekly Newsletter.
The Science Department Donates Equipment to the NHS
Our Science students are continuing with their studies at home, consequently our science equipment in the laboratories is, at the moment, not being used.
On Tuesday we collected together our departmental PPE (personal protective equipment) from the laboratories and Prep. Room and donated it to our NHS. Boxes of equipment were placed outside of the School for collection by various organisations.
We were able to donate well over 400 pairs of goggles and safety glasses, along with plastic aprons, gloves and a face shield.
The equipment has been distributed to Doctors’ Surgeries in Uttoxeter and Rocester, and also to the local Ambulance Service and Community Nurses.
We have received a message of thanks and a photograph from the Ambulance Service:
‘Thanks to you, every member of Burton and Hixon Stations now has their own safety goggles which will protect them in the fight we have with COVID-19’.
Northgate Surgery in Uttoxeter have also sent the following message:
‘Thank you so much for organising and providing us with the much needed goggles, it is much appreciated. The GPs and I are very grateful for your kindness during this uncertain time’.
We are immensely grateful for all of the work being carried out by key workers on our behalf and trust that the Science Department PPE will help to protect our NHS staff.
In these unusual times we feel it is important to keep lines of communication open. Mrs Dodd has set up a new way of Year 12 keeping up to date with enrichment. All year 12 students have been emailed a link and password to access the virtual Sixth Form via EDMODO, we encourage everyone to join as this is where we will be sharing resources in relation to Future intentions and Enrichment after Easter. As parents you can join too via your son/daughters link if you wish. Unifrog has now launched itself on Instagram. This time can be used to plan your next step in your career journey. Use the tools on the home page of Unifrog to see what you can do.
I would spend some time going through these sections and look at the MOOC’s that are available for you to access. They will help to keep your brain active and engaged and you never know, you may learn about something totally unexpected that could give you greater insight in to a new career idea.Within the Subjects Library tool, once you have selected a career you can scroll to the bottom of the page and find a great section called ‘geek out section’ and this is for all subjects and all learners if you wish to enhance or develop your learning in any way. We have many students in Year 12 who are currently undertakinganEPQ. The EPQ learning forum is going well with 32 students currently undertaking a project and that Mrs Dodd is very impressed with the range of ideas they have come up for their projects.
It is awful that we have not had the usual end of term activities and end of year 13 plans as we normally would. It has been such a quick end to their time at Thomas Alleyne’s. We are still keeping in touch with them, if you can encourage them to please let their teachers, form tutors, and the Sixth Form Team know how they are getting on and if there is anything we can do for them then please let us know.
For those that have applied to university then please check ask them to check their communication and messages from UCAS. They have stated that they have extended the deadline for acceptance on to these courses by two weeks due to the current situation, and to also state that if they have had a reduced offer or an unconditional offer then this extra two weeks will give them time to discuss with parents. It seems that some universities are trying to guarantee students on their courses so are changing the parameters by which they usually work.
Please all, you can encourage students to keep upto date on Insight, Outlook, Teams and Edmodo over the upcoming weeks then this will help them be aware of all communications from their teachers and Mrs Rudge.
TAP for after Easter as follows:
Both Years:
Both years:Stuck for ideas? Why not try these 100 ideas for 100 days?
Online Gigs
The Ticket Factory has created a calendar of streamed gigs. Have a look and see if there is anything you fancy attending.
Online Theatre
The National Theatre are streaming free full length plays every Thursday such as James Corden in the comedy One Man, Two Guvnors. Find them here:
Pet Photos
The Ticket Factory are running a Facebook competition for the cutest pet. Why not join their Facebook page to upload your entries
Ofqual Notification
Ofqual have now published their guidance for school regarding the Summer 2020 grades for year 11 and 13. Mrs Rudge has sent the letter from OFQUAL to all students. Mrs Peers is working on a frequently asked questions document to share with all parents and students. This will be sent to all students early next week.
We know this is a time of great anxiety and we want to support all students as much as possible. However, please do note that Ofqual have stated specifically that the school is not to share any grades or rankings that we are considering.
At this stage, we also do not need any additional work that your child has completed, including work with tutors. Any work that has been completed will have undoubtedly benefited them in their classwork before closure.
Ofqual have stated that schools use the evidence available, particularly taking into account current Public Health guidelines.
We are being asked to use a broad evidence base, including mocks, classwork, homeworks, and, where relevant, practical performances, to produce a fair grade. This means that if they were absent for any part or if coursework is incomplete, they will not be disadvantaged.
We will continue to inform you of additional information as we receive, including advice for BTEC subjects.
Insight
It may be that since we have been using virtual learning that your son or daughter may have become a little overwhelmed by the work that appears on Insight. A tip that has been suggested is that they look at what they have achieved already. They can click on ‘subjects’ on the top right of their homework page and deselect all the subjects. This will give them a chance to look at each subject in turn. They can then see how much work they have already completed and achieved and what they have left to do. We want them to feel a sense of accomplishment.
NSPCC Advice
The NSPCC have provided guidance for parents on talking to children worried about coronavirus.
Young Minds have a very informative web page about looking after your mental health when self isolating:
https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/looking-after-your-mental-health-while-self-isolating/
It includes
- staying connected
- staying calm
- dealing with stressful situations at home
- helplines and resources
Maths Puzzle
Thank you to everyone who submitted a solution to last week’s puzzle about dominoes and triominoes. Everyone found the correct number of dominoes (28) but the triominoes was more challenging. The most common wrong answer was 56 but the correct answer was 76.
This is made up from 6 triples (all 3 numbers the same), 30 doubles (where 2 of the numbers are the same) and then 40 where all the numbers are different. The key here was to spot that 5, 3, 1 is different to 5, 1, 3.
Well done to one of our school Governors, Peter Taylor, who was the only person with the correct solution.
This week’s puzzle
Please email your answers with workings / pictures to ibbs@tahs.net. The correct solution and names of those who got it correct will be put in round-up next week
Calling all prospective medical/dentistry students
In order to support our students with the very challenging task of applying to study these competitive courses at university we have teamed up with a local consultant. She has agreed to act as a mentor to our students, offering advice and providing support with the online testing. Any student from y9 upwards who might be interested in applying for medicine or dentistry and would like to access this support or would like any further information please email Mrs North at north@tahs.net
English Success
RE Work
Thank you to a great week of work and the positive feedback we have received about the screencast lessons. Here is a sample or great work from Y9, 10 and 12 working from home – it really does show that it doesn’t matter what form your work takes – you can still make progress and keep learning. Your efforts are really appreciated.
Students of the week have been chosen by Mrs Lindsay
Year 9 Students of the Week are:Sylvia, Keria, Grace, Millie, Lydia, Joe, Harry, Lewis and Jack.
Year 10 Students of the Week are:
Lilberty, Heather, Ben, Lydia, Polly and Josh.
Each will receive their online certificate explaining the reasons they have been chosen.
Science News
Even though our Science lessons are currently home based we are continuing to select students for their hard work across all academic years.
This week we have Science Students off the Week selected by Mrs Gwynne:
Year 10
Isaac Stanier, Katie Large, Aiden Moorfield and Tilly Shelley for super effort completing all work set to an exceptional standard.
Year 11
Jack Doyle, Eve Bednall and Seb Hancox for their continued commitment to Biology.
Year 12
Aaron Gwynne and Jenna Timmis for continued communication and completing work.
Year 13
Jack Marples, Thomas Paige, Emelia Lowe and Kim Burgess for completing all of the A Level Biology work that has been set.
Mrs North has also selected students for excellent work in both Science and Animal Care:
Year 9
Joe Hall and Findlay Taylor-Smith for excellent work in Science.
Year 10
Millie Yates and Tom Jackson for excellent Animal Care coursework.
Year 11
Millie Watson, Scarlett Simister and Jess Smith for completing all of their Animal Care coursework.
Year 12
George Mothershaw for making an excellent start on his coursework on the musculoskeletal system.
Well done!
PE Department
This week for core PE our students have begun a First Aid Course, through St John Ambulance. This is a practical course on Insight.
Our Yr 11 BTEC Tech Sport students have this week received their exam results. They have all received a personal email on Office 365 giving a breakdown of their result. Most of our students are rightly very proud of their results but for those below their target we will be notify the exam board that they would intend to resit. Our Yr11s continue to work hard on their Coursework and completed assignments should be emailed to their teacher on Office 365.
Yr10 BTEC Tech Sport students have been researching Sports Injuries for their Coursework. Over Easter they have an optional project on Sports Leadership which they will find on Insight.
Yr12 BTEC Sport students are researching careers in Sport.
Yr13 BTEC Sport students are completing their assignment on Fitness Testing.
In conjunction with Staffordshire Training Provider The Training Initiative, we have been able to offer Yr11,12 and 13 students the opportunity to complete a L2 Fitness Instructor course, details are on Insight.
Practically, students have a number of project options over Easter- The first is a daily mile challenge, create a mile route using Google maps or another app and try and beat your time each day you can start by walking.
The Royal Ballet have got a progressive fitness programme on
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=royal+ballet+fit+episode+1
Leeds Rhinos have got a 14 day fitness challenge you can try (you don’t have to be a rugby player it is suitable for everyone)
Alternatively create your own fitness/movement/ PE challenge, it might be to improve a skill e.g keepie uppies, or catching, try a yoga routine, make up a new game. Post your ideas on Office 365.
Other ideas are on Insight
Games created by some members of Miss Jones’ PE group.
Gemma came up with Here’s the rules for the 2 games me and my two brothers made up:1) Crab Football:Basically, it’s a version of football that can be played inside, as long as there’s space! Each player starts in a ‘crab’ position, on hands and feet, kind of like the bridge gym pose but with arms bent below the shoulders, if that makes sense? Then, you set up as many goals as there are players (eg, 3), each about a meter wide. Next, you have to ‘crab crawl’ around and try and score the opponents goal. To score, it is a countdown: everyone starts with 5 points and if somebody scores in your goal, you lose a point and they gain one. Either first to 10 points wins, or first to 0 loses, whichever’s first!
2) Winguardium This game is also for indoors, and each player sits (preferably cross-legged, or kneeling) in a circle, with about half a meter between them all. The aim of the game is to defend your ‘goal’-your head- but you’re not allowed to move anything but your hands. If you can figure out a way of walking with your hands, that is allowed. If your head gets head-bumped by somebody else, you’re out!
Hannah invented a game called Tillies Out where the scoring system is, at the end of how many rounds you want to do, the person with the most times they have turned the lamp off wins. If the numbers are equal, the person who wins is the person who got sent back to the house the least amount of times.
Isabella continued with a fitness theme – The game i did was to put exercises in one bowl and numbers in another. You pick a exercise and a number of times and continue until you finish both bowels
Sadie practiced her netball – 2 people each have a turn shooting the netball into the hoop. if it bounces off the wall and goes in its 1 point and if it goes in without touching the wall then its 2 points. the first person to 20 points wins.
Netball drills.
The netball teams received a link with some solo drills they can practice at home if they have access to a ball. Everyone is welcome to try.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtkLCIbDu7_NxV6JNkpls9w
Please keep praticing your skills if you are able to and send in any photos or videos of any skills you have completed successfully
Internet Safety
Parental controls offered by your home internet provider to support homeschooling online safety
How to set up filters on your home internet to help prevent age inappropriate content being accessed on devices in your home.
The 4 big internet providers in the UK – BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media – provide their customers with free parental controls which can be activated at any time. They have come together to produce these helpful video guides to help you to download and set-up the controls offered by your provider.
The link to this site can be found:
This site has lots of other useful resources for parents and carers to support online safety.
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/parents-and-carers
Geography Competitions
As we are entering the Easter holidays, it is a good time to slow down and take a break from working all the time. So in light of this, we will be extending the final submission date of the competitions announced next week. The new dates are as follows:
Year 9-Wednesday 22nd April
Year 10 and 11- Friday 24th April
Year 12 and 13- Monday 27th April
Winners will be announced on May 1st.
Any questions, draft submissions, or final submissions can be sent to geogcomp@tahs.net.
Good luck and happy Easter!
Drama News
The National Theatre are currently offering free, at home access to some of their productions and this week are streaming the highly acclaimed One Man, Two Guvnors (recommended for parents/carers and students of year 11 and above). This is available for the next six days, please see the link below.
Students and families have additionally been sent an at home login on INSIGHT to access the NT collection over Easter.
Digital Marketing Course
Further to us securing the opportunity for students to do online fitness course we are also able to offer a similar opportunity for Digital Marketing – ideal for ICT and Business students in years 11 to 13.
https://www.thetraininginitiative.co.uk/funded-courses-staffordshire/
Child Development
Child development students have been set the “egg baby” challenge over Easter – here’s the first two entries baby Bella and baby Derek!
BTEC Tech Award Health & Social Care Exam Results
This week saw the arrival of the results for the external exam taken in February for all our year 10 and year 11 Health & Social Care students. We are incredibly pleased with the results with a fantastic 100% pass rate. Lots of students have performed above their target grades, but special mention must go to Lydia in year 10 who achieved an outstanding 48/48 points towards her overall qualification. Well done to everyone.
Great Art Work
The Art Department has been really impressed with how well Year 9 students have been engaging with the first two art tasks. Some brilliant use of pattern and tone – well done! Here are a few examples to share with you
New Life
A bit of positive news for peoples day, new life down on the farm.
An Impressed Mr Parker!
While all those who’re staying focused online are doing really well, I particularly wanted to mention the work members of 11U2 and 11H2 are doing in such unusual times. I’ve been sent some hugely inspiring and well-thought out pieces, and think you should all be proud of keeping yourself in great working habits.
Links
Thomas Alleyne's high school 