Our term was brought to a close by a tasty turkey dinner, where the turkeys were hand reared by our students, a Christmas concert full of good cheer and the close of our Year 11 examinations. Year 11 have done us proud with the way in which they have conducted themselves throughout the period and we think moving the mock examinations to before Christmas has worked well for them. It has been my privilege, to meet over 60 students at our Headteacher breakfasts this week. At the breakfasts we had the opportunity to thank students for their commitment this year – the school is a better place because they study with us.
If you haven’t already seen the plans for our new build this Summer please see the article
‘See first design images of new state-of-the-art sports facility at Thomas Alleyne’s High School’ in the Derby Telegraph.
We wish you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year and look forward to seeing students back on the 8th January.
Uniform
A reminder to all students, parents and carers.
Hooded sweatshirts are not part of the uniform at Thomas Alleyne’s High School. We encourage all students to wear a v necked blue or black school sweatshirt over their shirts, especially now that the weather has turned cold.
We encourage them to also bring outdoor coats, and gloves. If they do bring hooded sweatshirts to school and wear these beneath or over their blazers these will be removed from them to be collected by parents as they are not part of the school uniform. We appreciate parents support with ensuring these sweatshirts, which are not part of our uniform are not brought to school.
ART GCSE EXAM EVENING
Students and their parents/guardians are invited to attend the art deptartment ART GCSE exam evening Wed 9th Jan 6:30-7:30pm in the school canteen. A reminder that the art GCSE papers wil be given out on this date plus lots of helpful tips and advice about preparing over the exam period before the 10hour controlled conditions in May.
ART GCSE COURSEWORK DEADLINE
ART GCSE coursework deadline is Monday 14th January 2018, 3:05pm. This forms 60% of your grade, the other 40% is the Externally Set Assignment (exam) unit which starts in January- please attend the evening on 9th Jan to receive your exam paper plus tips and advice.
Reports
Year 9, 10 and 12 reports are available on Insight.
Year 11 and 13 Mock Examinations
A huge well done to our students in Year 11 and 13 who have now reached the end of the mock examination period. We very much hope that your hard work has paid off.
Year 11 Mock Exam Results Day will take place on Thursday 17th January, period 5.
Year 9 English and Maths Internal Examinations
Please note, Year 9 exams will take place as follows:
Tuesday 14th January (English language)
Wednesday 15th January (Maths)
Thursday 16th January (English language)
Year 9 examinations are for English and Maths only and are internal examinations. This means that the results will be used by English and Maths teachers only to support intervention where required, and do not go towards final Year 11 GCSE results.
The additional purpose of these examinations is to help prepare our Year 9 students early on for Year 10 and 11 examinations by sitting assessments in examination venues instead of in their usual teaching classrooms.
The assessments will take place in the school theatre.
BTEC Animal Care
A reminder that the external exam for this subject will be taking place on Monday 14th January. There will be NO external exam for this subject in June. The specification and past papers have been given out to the students to help with their revision over the holidays. These have also been set on INSIGHT in case any students have lost them.
Revision sessions will take place in room 81 on the following dates in order to help students prepare for this exam:
Tuesday 8th January 3.05-4.00pm
Thursday 10th January 3.05-4.00pm
Monday 14th January 8.00-8.40am
BTEC Applied Science
Y12 Unit 3 Exam
The practical part of this exam will take place on Friday 11th January followed by an externally moderated assessment on Monday 21st January. Students will need to revise all the work covered this year over Christmas in order to fully prepare for this. All students have revision guides and past papers have been set via INSIGHT
Y13 Unit 1 Exam
There will be a series of three exams for this unit as follows, with each being 40 minutes long:
Tuesday 15th January pm – Biology
Wednesday 16th January am – Chemistry
Wednesday 16th January pm – Physics
All students have got a revision guide and packs of past exam questions to use as part of their revision. They will need to be revising for these exams over the Christmas period.
Online Safety
The impact of social media can be amazing – the promotion of events, the re-connection with friends from times past and the sharing of memories – are all fantastic ways of communicating.
Unfortunately social media is not always used in such a positive way.
Advice regarding uploading pictures:
Only upload pictures that you’d be happy for a parent to see (the internet is a public place). Don’t post pictures of you or your friends wearing school uniform (this lets people know where you will be). Tick the “no pic forwarding” option on your settings page – this will stop people forwarding your pictures to anyone without your consent. Who are you communicating with? Do you know? Do you really know?? Have you met them? If you know someone… who knows someone… who knows someone….. it doesn’t make them your friend.
Advice for students:
What you put on social media sites is there forever. Consider the information you share – you don’t know who your friend’s friends are… or your friend’s friends’ friends… Be aware that information on your profile could potentially be viewed by anyone. Consider you photo – what info does it give about you? Understand the meaning of ‘joint enterprise’ Be aware that university admissions and employers WILL check your internet activity.
In the event of an emergency with your child, have you got a new phone number (especially mobile)? Have you moved? Has there been a change in your circumstances? Has there been a change regarding any medical information for your son or daughter? If so, it is vital that you alert school so we can change the details on our system. Please contact school as soon as possible.
Need to Talk?
Need help and advice? Then follow this link for more information.
The PTA would like to give a huge thanks to all those who donated raffle prizes and bought tickets for our hampers. We managed to make 5 beautiful prizes which were raffled off last night at the Music Concert. We raised over £400.00 and the students and staff really do appreciate your contributions. We also have some exciting new projects coming up in 2019 and will be letting you know how you can continue to support our students through the PTA.
We are always looking for new members and would welcome anyone who is willing to help out no matter how small an amount. To get in touch please email:
This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mrs Faizey are:
Year 9
Mollie Beresford and Sam Bennett
Year 10
Victoria Morut and Ashton Bagley
All students were selected for their excellent effort in Chemistry.
This week’s Animal Care Students of the Week selected by Mr Gilson are:
Year 10
Abbey Moore and Alfie Clowes for relishing the opportunity to pluck and dress a turkey.
Year 11
Josh Buckley and Joseph Porritt for hard work and effort in Animal Care.
Well done!
PE
Girls Football Vs Australia
Thomas Alleyne’s hosted the touring John Curtin Football Academy on Monday afternoon. First half our girls were given a masterclass in football from the socceroos, who passed the ball around and created many scoring opportunities. Klaudia Siwek made many saves to keep the score respectable.
Second half we mixed the two teams together to create an even game and to create some friendships. There were many conversations about accents and different cultures following the game
On Tuesday our swimmers competed in the annual Moorlands swimming gala held at Biddulph Leisure Centre.
All the students excelled in their races and put in 100% effort against other strong teams.
After a hard fought competition Thomas Alleyne’s were placed 2nd overall with the year 9 boys and year 10/11 girls placing first.
Lots of gold medals were won by the following swimmers:
Year 9 Boys 50m Backstroke – Adam Bulmer
Year 9 Boys 50m Freestyle – Ben Twynham
Year 9 Boys I.M – Ben Twynham
Year 9 Boys Freestyle Relay – Duncan Craven
George Arnold
Adam Bulmer
Ben Twynham
Year 9 Boys Medley Relay – Duncan Craven
George Arnold
Adam Bulmer
Ben Twynham
Year 9 Girls Freestyle Relay_ Maddy Egerton
Zoe Hunter
Issy Punchard
Louisa Page
Year 10/11 Girls Medley Relay – Olivia Gregory
Rowan Hall
Jemima Pope
Harriet Bebbington
Year 10/11 Girls Freestyle Relay – Issy Foster
Rowan Hall
Jemima Pope
Harriet Bebbington
Year 10/11 Girls 25m Butterfly – Harriet Bebbington
Year 9/10 Girls I.M – Olivia Gregory
A huge well done and thank you from all the PE staff.
Have a lovely Christmas and see you all in the New Year.
ART DEPT HELP PLEASE!
Please could you help out the art department and our students by collecting the following items we intend to reuse and re purpose into some exciting art works.
1) thin card- cereal box type. We are looking for the insides to be white, brown or grey. Please flatten the boxes and drop off in the art dept. Year 9 will be using these to create relief collages.
2) GOLD wrappers. the type often found on chocolates- foils and cellophane. Please flatten out the cellophane/ foils and return to the art dept. One of 6th formers is doing a project next term called “ all that glitters is not gold” and intends eventually to make a fashion piece using these wrappers.
3) Fruit Netting. The packaging satsumas and lemons often come in! Again this is for a 6th former student who will want to use these in their work- based on “plastics and sealife ecosystems.”
4) Empty drinks cans. –These MUST be rinsed out so not sticky when used, and NOT crushed. We reuse the metal to create embossed designs.
THANK YOU so much in anticipation of any help you can give us.
Business Studies
Well done to all of 10D for fantastic presentations this week to our guest judge. They worked so hard to create new and origional ideas for a chocolate product and their presentations were all of a great standard. Thank you to Dawn Shirley for coming in to judge and also well done to Jacob White for taking part as a class judge, we were really impressed with your involvement.
Congratulations to Dylan James, Sam Spooner and Josh Campion who won with their idea of Choc o-lates! They designed an amazing chocolate bar and even brought in a sample for the class to try. The judges were very impressed, as were the class with the taste of the new bar. Well done!
Maths Puzzle
Answers to November Puzzle 65,72 and 97. There were no correct entries.
This months puzzle for December is
Christmas Car Sales
‘How’s the motor business’ asked Ian. Chris smiled ‘Its not usually good leading up to Christmas but sales have picked up again. We sold 56 in the first 3 weeks. The difference between the number we sold in the first and second weeks, multiplied by the difference between the second and third weeks, comes to the same as the number we sold in the first week’.
Ian was stuck as he was not in a top set maths class at school.
How many cars did Chris sell in the third week of that month?
Answers to Mr Askey
Christmaths!
In maths this week some classes have been completing maths activities with a Christmas theme.
We have been plotting coordinates that make Christmas trees, Rudolf or Father Christmas, we have been decoding Christmas messages and one group have been investigating fractals especially the Menger Sponge, Koch snowflake and Sierpinski tetrahedron all put together to make a fractal Christmas tree.
Have a look at the photos of some of our work!
Past Art Student Returns!
As ever, the Art department is thrilled to hear of our past Art & Photography students who are embarking on careers in the visual arts. Erica Poyser studied Maths, Art, Craft & Design as well as Photography whilst at TAHS, gaining a direct place on several university degree courses based on the strength of her portfolio of work created during A level Art & Photography.
Erica has just started the first year of her 3 year BA Hons Design Crafts degree at De Montfort University in Leicester. So far she has been exploring ceramics including throwing pottery, plaster casting as well as glass, casting, blowing and shaping the glass. The exciting course allows students to develop further skills in a variety of areas. We look forward to seeing what work Erica does over the next few years!
Any other past students who are working in the creative and visual arts sector and would like to keep in touch – please contact the office.
Links
Follow the links to; School Website, Facebook, Twitter & our Online Shop
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If there are any changes you would like to see please let us know.
20/12/2018 – Last day of term & Christmas Jumper Day
21/12/2018 – Inset Day
7/1/19 Inset Day
8/1/19 School reopens for students
Headteacher blog:
This week, I had the opportunity of conducting interviews with year 11 students discussing their options post 16. I was impressed by both of the boys I met on Wednesday. although they are not certain of their plans, they were both clearly ambitious. One student said that he felt he had not worked as hard as he should have done in year 10 but that now it has struck him how important GCSEs are. He is looking at Physiotherapy due to his passion for Sport and Psychology. The second student is looking at working in Agricultural Contracting. He is already exceeding many of his target grades. Both students felt well supported by the staff in their preparations for their trial examinations. For students who have not revised as much as they should have, the week will have been challenging. We hope they use this final weekend to ensure they are well prepared for their final 4 days of examinations.
We are opening applications to attend our 5 day Outward Bound course in Aberdovey and can see this will be a very popular opportunity for Year 9. Once we have piloted it this year we hope to offer additional residentials for students to run alongside the fantastic Duke of Edinburgh Programme led by Mr Crum.
In our final week we will be holding our Music Concert, Christmas Dinner and Christmas Jumper Day! We will close on Thursday at our usual time of 3.05 and school will open again on Tuesday 8th January.
Uniform
A reminder to all students, parents and carers.
Hooded sweatshirts are not part of the uniform at Thomas Alleyne’s High School. We encourage all students to wear a v necked blue or black school sweatshirt over their shirts, especially now that the weather has turned cold.
We encourage them to also bring outdoor coats, and gloves. If they do bring hooded sweatshirts to school and wear these beneath or over their blazers these will be removed from them to be collected by parents as they are not part of the school uniform. We appreciate parents support with ensuring these sweatshirts, which are not part of our uniform are not brought to school.
Thursday 20th December – Christmas Jumpers
Staff & students are invited to wear Christmas jumpers on the last day of term.
£1 donation, with all funds going to TAHS YESS counselling support services.
Please note for students, the jumpers can only be worn alongside full school uniform.
Reports
Year 9, 10 and 12 reports are available on Insight.
Y9 Residential Trip to Aberdovey
All students have received a letter about a residential trip to Aberdovey week commencing 25th February.
Monday is the deadline to submit the reply slips, a ballot will take place next week for the places. A discount price is offered to pupil premium students.
Christmas Dinner
We are proud to announce that the turkeys came to the farm as day old chicks in September, they were initially kept under a heat lamp to keep them warm.
They have been fed highly nutritious pellets supplemented with fresh vegetables. Students have been monitoring their growth on a weekly basis as well as keeping their pens clean and tidy.
All this from Thomas Alleyne’s very own farm!
Also as we break up on a Thursday, Fish & Chip Friday will be in Thursday next week!!!
Online Safety
The impact of social media can be amazing – the promotion of events, the re-connection with friends from times past and the sharing of memories – are all fantastic ways of communicating.
Unfortunately social media is not always used in such a positive way.
Advice regarding uploading pictures:
Only upload pictures that you’d be happy for a parent to see (the internet is a public place). Don’t post pictures of you or your friends wearing school uniform (this lets people know where you will be). Tick the “no pic forwarding” option on your settings page – this will stop people forwarding your pictures to anyone without your consent. Who are you communicating with? Do you know? Do you really know?? Have you met them? If you know someone… who knows someone… who knows someone….. it doesn’t make them your friend.
Advice for students:
What you put on social media sites is there forever. Consider the information you share – you don’t know who your friend’s friends are… or your friend’s friends’ friends… Be aware that information on your profile could potentially be viewed by anyone. Consider you photo – what info does it give about you? Understand the meaning of ‘joint enterprise’ Be aware that university admissions and employers WILL check your internet activity.
In the event of an emergency with your child, have you got a new phone number (especially mobile)? Have you moved? Has there been a change in your circumstances? Has there been a change regarding any medical information for your son or daughter? If so, it is vital that you alert school so we can change the details on our system. Please contact school as soon as possible.
Need to Talk?
Need help and advice? Then follow this link for more information.
Natalie Stretton was the winner of this years ‘Class of 1961’ award for ‘Original Thought in Art’. The fabulous trophy was generously donated a couple of years ago by a group of past students from 1961 in recognition of the TAHS Art departments strong tradition of developing artists with a strong sense of individuality.
Natalie was awarded due to her diligence through out GCSE Art where she was often seen in the department Art Club after school. Natalie uses both analytical and expressive styles in her work is currently in year 12 working towards her A Level Art Craft and Design alongside Biology and Health & Social care.
Well done Natalie!
Year 11 Cambridge National in IT
A reminder that 50% of your course is due in to Mr Cartwright by 3.05 this coming Thursday, 20th December. As you are all fully aware work on this is NOT allowed outside of school, thus 43 will be open every lunchtime and after school next week.
Make the most of the opportunity to maximise the grade on this essential piece of work. Please also be reminded that there can be no extensions given as this deadline is exam board derived.
Year 10 French Exchange
Year 10 French Exchange partners’ details have arrived. Don’t forget the next payment is due soon.
History
Year 11 Mocks
Papers 2 and 3: don’t forget that you can collect some additional revision resources and activities to complete at home in preparation for these exams. Mrs Johnson and Mrs Young are also running lunch time and after school drop-in sessions if you have any questions.
Science
This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mr Beech are:
Year 9
Josh Briddon and Freya Blackman for excellent Biology assessment scores.
Year 10
George Foster and Leon Bareham for excellent scores in the Bioenergetics topic.
Year 11
Lucy Greatrex and Georgia Fleeman for excellent assessment scores in Biology.
Well done!
PE
U16 County Cup Football
Alleynes marched into the semi finals of the county cup with a 3- 0 win over well fancied Aldridge to give supporters an early Christmas present. The long bus journey didnt help our visitors as they began sluggishly, with us hitting them with 2 quick goals from Archie McNair and the flu ridden Lewis Dawson. Lewie Thornton started up front after his excellent substitute appearance in the last round and carried out the game plan to perfection. Dawson added a third before half time just before he had to be withdrawn.
The 2nd half was much more even but Alleynes showed good match awareness to close the game out and always posed a threat through the outstanding man of the match Alex Shaw. This game showed Alleynes could adapt their tactics to suit the conditions and opponents.Captain Frankie Bussell and his midfield partner Ethan Archer were instrumental in the implementation of the game plan.
The draw was made this week and after our final performance last year we have been given a bye in the first round and will face our Alleynes rivals from Stone in the 2nd round.
U14 County Cup Rugby
On Wednesday yr9 travelled to St Josephs college for our first 15 aside fixture. With great parental support we began very strongly with well organised defence and strong running. While small errors cost us against a very experienced and talented side the team can be very proud of their efforts.
Monday- U15 Football v Australian touring side (see notice board for team list)
Tuesday- Staffordshire Moorlands Swimming Gala. See Miss Jones for team list. Details will be text to parents on Monday.
U14 Basketball away at Robert Sutton- Team list on PE notice board
Wednesday- U14 Football county cup
Team list on PE noticeboard.
Swimming Gala
If anybody is interested in competing in the swim gala but has not been asked please let Miss Jones know. Full details are on the sportshall notice board.
Girls Rugby
Another excellent rugby festival was held by Mark Tolley & Burton Rugby Club at Shobnall fields. The girls competed in two competitive full pich games, drawing 2 – 2 with John Taylo and beating Robert Sutton 5-0
Holly Chatfield led the side brilliantly, also representing the school were Lydia Martin, Maddi Porritt, Jessie Johnson, Abigail Baldwin, Lucy Calladine, Jess Perry, Abbie Garland, Heather Leech, Lydia Martin, Caitlin Jones, & Beth Reilly
Maths Puzzle
Answers to November Puzzle 65,72 and 97. There were no correct entries.
This months puzzle for December is
Christmas Car Sales
‘How’s the motor business’ asked Ian. Chris smiled ‘Its not usually good leading up to Christmas but sales have picked up again. We sold 56 in the first 3 weeks. The difference between the number we sold in the first and second weeks, multiplied by the difference between the second and third weeks, comes to the same as the number we sold in the first week’.
Ian was stuck as he was not in a top set maths class at school.
How many cars did Chris sell in the third week of that month?
Answers to Mr Askey
Year 10 Maths
All of Year 10 will have a maths assessment next week based on the topics they have studied this half term.
Sets 1 and 2: Indices, angles, properties of polygons, congruence, similar shapes
Sets 3, 4 and 5: Statistical measures, indices, algebra, constructions, loci
login is the student’s usual school login with @tahs at the end eg smithjohn04@tahs
the password is triangle
They will need to bring the following equipment with them to ensure they can answer all the questions:
black pen, pencil, ruler, rubber, protractor, compass and scientific calculator.
Christmas Concert
Tickets are available from the online shop and also from Mr Power. £5 each (£3 concessions).
Excellent Year Year 13 Work
Some fantastic revision materials have been created in preparation for the Year 13 Philosophy and Ethics exam – this demonstrates a great work ethic, well done. Please see the pictures below to see good examples of thorough revision strategies.
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Links
Follow the links to; School Website, Facebook, Twitter & our Online Shop
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If there are any changes you would like to see please let us know.
In a school week when I had the privilege of watching over 50 brilliant young people, led by our fantastic team of drama/dance teachers, perform the play DNA, and when I had the chance to watch our Year 10 girls’ victory in netball, I feel incredibly proud of our young people. In both drama and sport, the students embodied the essence of teamwork beautifully.
Our RE staff will be opening up on Saturday, welcoming in their Year 11 students to support them in their final preparations for their mock examinations.
I would like to pass on my thanks to all staff for the opportunities they are offering our students both academically and in Sport, Art, Drama and Music.
We wish everyone well with their trial examinations next week.
Uniform
A reminder to all students, parents and carers.
Hooded sweatshirts are not part of the uniform at Thomas Alleyne’s High School. We encourage all students to wear a v necked blue or black school sweatshirt over their shirts, especially now that the weather has turned cold.
We encourage them to also bring outdoor coats, and gloves. If they do bring hooded sweatshirts to school and wear these beneath or over their blazers these will be removed from them to be collected by parents as they are not part of the school uniform. We appreciate parents support with ensuring these sweatshirts, which are not part of our uniform are not brought to school.
On Tuesday 4th December we welcomed Andy Grant to speak to our Yr 12 students. He came in to tell his story and share his experiences. Andy has delivered motivational talks all over the world – from talking to Nike Marketing Team in China to the England Football team before the World Cup. Andy was in the Royal Marines as a member of the Green Beret. During active service 5 months into a tour of Afghanistan Andy got blown up. After suffering horrific injuries he spent 18 months in and out of hospital. Andy eventually decided to have his amputated from the knee down. From the moment he started talking the students and myself were completely transfixed by what he has gone through and how he had turned his life around. Andy is the fastest single leg amputee in the world over 10km with a time of 37.17. Andy’s story is a rollercoaster of emotions.
After the talk students said that it was very humbling listening to his talk and that it brought them to tears. It was an absolute privilege to listen to Andy’s presentation and to see the effect it had on the students.
We look forward to welcoming Andy to Thomas Alleyne’s again.
We have had a busy week! External visitors willing to share their wealth of knowledge and to impart wisdom upon our Year 12 and 13 students. Last week I talked about enrichment and how we have a commitment to our young adults, the feedback I have had from our students this week is that we are helping them see life from many directions. Mrs Walton has provided an account regarding the inspiring words he imparted on the Year 12’s on Tuesday. It seems that Commando humour is something we all need and humility and courage will always serve you well, I wish I had been able to listen, I hope we are lucky enough to have him back.
On Wednesday, staff from T3 Drug & Alcohol Advisory Unit visited Year 13 as part of their wellbeing programme and our commitment to our educate on matters where we know we are not always the specialist. I was not teaching so I was able to listen to this talk, I found it interesting but also very concerning about how many illicit substances there are. Adam was able to speak clearly about the dangers surrounding drug misuse and also explained how useful the T3 programme is. T3 is a free and confidential service for young people up to 18 years old in Staffordshire. They help young people make informed choices about their alcohol and drug use, and to raise awareness of all the risks involved. This includes providing high quality and responsive support and assistance to parents and carers, schools and colleges, reflecting an inclusive approach to care co-ordination.
AS you know we are committed to helping within our local community and one way which we are doing this is by donating unwanted glasses to the Uttoxeter Lions, today they collected 13 pairs of glasses from our school. They stated that this is ‘an impressive result on top of the 21 pairs collected last month’. Thanks to all those people who donated and thank you to Mrs Bell who helps organise these events..
We are looking for Year 12 students who would be interested in being an accelerated reading mentor. This will involve being assigned to a lower school student who is struggling with their reading and literacy skills. They will listen to them read and give them strategies to improve (training will be given). This is a very worthwhile project and they will get to see their mentee improve in reading age (students take an online test after reading each short book). It will take place during registration once per week in the library. This is also excellent to put on their personal statements/job applications about a time when they have made a difference, overcome obstacles, helped others etc. If anybody is thinking of becoming a teacher or healthcare worker, there are also opportunities to learn about dyslexia and other special needs. We have run this support to Lower school for many years and feel that it is beneficial and worthwhile.
Over the next two weeks we have our Year 13 mocks. All Year 13 students should be ready to sit these exams. Please reiterate to them that it is ok to feel nervous and anxious, others will be feeling the same. We ask that all students turn up to the exam in plenty of time, all students are expected in lessons if they are not in an exam. All students must bring the correct equipment to their exams and behave accordingly. After Christmas there are some BTEC external exams, again ensure that they are revising for these, they are important and do count towards their final BTEC qualification.
“On Tuesday 4th December, the Y13 A Level English Language group were lucky enough to have a session delivered by Dr Barbara MacMahon from Derby University. They learned about advanced Theory Of Mind as enrichment towards their Child Language Acquisition module. We look forward to continuing this successful partnership with Derby University.”
JCQ Exam Contingency Day – Wednesday 26th June 2019
For the Summer 2019 exam series a “contingency” exam day has been arranged by the examination awarding bodies which all students need to be aware of. This contingency day for GCSE and/or A Level (or equivalent) examinations has been put in place “in the event of widespread, sustained national or local disruption to examinations during the June 2019 examination series.” The decision comes following the tragic events of last summer, namely the Manchester attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire.
The Joint Council for Qualifications have decided that they need the option to postpone an exam in the event of an incident and rearrange for a later date to allow all students a fair and equal chance. The date that has been set aside as the contingency day is Wednesday 26 June 2019. This means that all exam candidates must be available to sit exams from the date of their first exam until Wednesday 26 June 2019.
This decision is not a school decision and does apply to all candidates in all schools. Please can all students/parents/carers make a note of the new contingency exam date in the event that an awarding body needs to invoke its contingency plan.
Christmas Dinner
We are proud to announce that all the turkey provided for this years Christmas lunch in the school canteen has come from the school farm where they have been cared for by the Animal Care students. Our turkeys have also been sold to other local schools in the area for their Christmas lunches.
History
Year 9 have reached the end of their first unit of work and are completing assessments on this. It is clear that there has been a lot of revision, and, as a result of this, Mrs Johnson and Mrs Young have marked some excellent examination papers. Revising properly for Year 9 history assessments is an important part of learning which revision strategies will work at GCSE.
After school revision sessions are continuing for Year 11 and it is lovely to work with students in small groups to help them consolidate their understanding and practice examination skills.
Mrs Johnson and Mrs Young are also available after school or during non-contact lessons for Year 13 students.
Science
This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mr Milward are:
Year 9
Elizabeth Shaw and Josh Ratcliffe for consistent hard work and progress in Biology.
Year 10
Josh Rogen for excellent scores in the Biology test.
Freya Hadgett for excellent progress.
Year 11
Jess Bailey and Tara Wilkins for excellent effort and good progress.
This week’s Animal Care news and star students selected by Mrs North:
Thank you to all the Year 10 students who have worked so hard this week plucking and dressing the turkeys as well as making Christmas wreaths. In particular, Taylor-Jane Bailey and Issy McLeavy have been brilliant.
Year 11 have been working very hard towards their external assessment in Animal Care after Christmas, in particular Jenna Timmis and Kensie Paterson who have produced some excellent revision materials.
Well done!
PE
Netball
Our first home game of the season saw our Year 10 team extend their unbeaten run in the East Staffordshire district league with wins against John Taylor’s A and B team.
Bolstered by a big home crowd TAHS soon settled and got over any early nerves and made their mark on the game. John Taylor A were put under great pressure whilst they were in possession of the ball, with the girls allowing very few passing options, with great positioning marking their opponents and strong arms in front of the ball. TAHS often won the ball back through interceptions or winning a penalty for a held ball.
Amelia and Eve showed great team work in their circle defending to restrict the John Taylor shooters efforts at the net. Together with Jess and Frankie the ball was moved quickly upcourt to our own shooting third. Alice & Holly fed the ball effectively into Freya & Anna who were hungry for goals & delivered scoring from different areas of the D. The final score was 15-4 to Thomas Alleyne’s. A thoroughly enjoyable watch as both teams displayed a high standard of netball.
Fortunately there was another game for the crowd to enjoy as the girls then faced the John Taylor B team. Determined to gain the full 6 points TAHS continued with the same levels of intensity and raced to 18-3 victory. A result which has left Miss Jones beaming all week.
Evie, Holly, Halle, Eve, Anna, Amelia & Freya travelled to John Taylor to participate in a coaching session. Commonwealth gold medal winner Beth Cobden delivered some fun warm-up activities and some technical drills on how to beat a defender, followed by some games. All the girls thoroughly enjoyed the session, which ended with a Q & A session and some photo opportunities with the gold medal & Beth Cobden.
Year 9 East Staffordshire Futsal Championship.
The pictures tell the story… 1st and 2nd in the district.
Year 9 Rugby
On Wednesday 12th December Year 9 have a boys rugby fixture against St Josephs college away. Team list below. Team will require parents to arrange lifts meeting at 1.20 at school and getting to St Josephs for 2pm. Game will finish at approx 3.30pm.
Address of pitch is – Rose Tree Avenue Trent Vale Stoke On Trent ST4 6NL
Team to see Mr Barrow Monday registration to confirm availability.
Tim Hensman, Toby Minshall, Charlie Ratcliffe, Ben Ogden, Connor Buxton, Blake Plant, Adam Bulmer, Leo Hemmings, Driss Chouhibi, Lewis Tomlinson, Luke Watt, Charlie Allcock, Duncan Craven, Toby Patterson, Hal Thornton, Aiden Moorfield, Ben Pagett, Ethan Hudson
Maths Puzzle
Answers to November Puzzle 65,72 and 97. There were no correct entries.
This months puzzle for December is
Christmas Car Sales
‘How’s the motor business’ asked Ian. Chris smiled ‘Its not usually good leading up to Christmas but sales have picked up again. We sold 56 in the first 3 weeks. The difference between the number we sold in the first and second weeks, multiplied by the difference between the second and third weeks, comes to the same as the number we sold in the first week’.
Ian was stuck as he was not in a top set maths class at school.
How many cars did Chris sell in the third week of that month?
Answers to Mr Askey
Christmas Concert
Mr Power is after more acts. If you have what it takes to be in the Christmas Concert this year please pop and see him ASAP!
Tickets are available from the online shop and also from Mr Power. £5 each (£3 concessions).
SUPPORT YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY!
We are excited to be able to offer parents and students an exclusive offer at TheBookPeople.co.uk. This offer will get you £5 off a £25 spend. The Book People offer a large range of books priced well below RRP and every purchase you make will help raise funds for our library!
And we’ll receive a commission on your order and you’ll receive £5 off your order (when you spend £25)!
For orders over £10, you’ll get free delivery too with the code:
ELF10
After school drop-in session
Struggling with how to revise? Want a quiet revision space? Academic referencing boggling your mind?
The library will now be opened after-school on Wednesdays from 3:05 to 4 from now until the end of term for students to get help with their studies. Many different types of support can be offered, including:
Tips for effective revision
A quiet workspace
Academic referencing support
Essay writing tips
Exam timing
Establishing a revision culture
Sourcing wider reading
And more!
Links
Follow the links to; School Website, Facebook, Twitter & our Online Shop
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If there are any changes you would like to see please let us know.
This year’s school play sees approximately 50 TAHS students take a role as cast or crew in an adaptation of Dennis Kelly’s DNA. The play is the GCSE Drama set text.
DNA tells the story of a group of teenagers who do something bad, really bad, then panic and cover the whole thing up. But when they find that the cover up unites them, and brings harmony to their once fractious lives, where’s the incentive to out things. Right?
TAHS continue with their annual style of a fusion of dance, drama and live music for this hard hitting piece of performance that highlight’s today’s youth culture.
Tickets on sale on the school online shop or outside the Theatre every lunch time. Make your payment, get your receipt, reserve your seats.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Dates for your diary
20/12/2018 – Last day of term
21/12/2018 – Inset Day
7/1/19 Inset Day
8/1/19 School reopens for students
Headteacher blog:
Thank you to all parents who joined us for year 11 parents evening this week. We were pleased that 3 out of every 4 parents were able to join us for the evening this year.
We hope you found the evening helpful as your daughters and sons prepare for their trial examinations. There are already a significant number of Year 11 and Year13 students who are showing maturity and wisdom in the way in which they are organising themselves. We had one question from a parent hoping that her son hadn’t peaked too early: it was a good question. We would like to reassure you that all the advice we give students is to the contrary – the more they commit to these examinations, the increasingly expert they become in managing their time. What is asked of students in 2018, is well beyond what was asked of me when I completed my GCSEs. Many of them will sit over 25 exams in just over 5 weeks. It takes real stamina and, just like preparing for any race or competition, they can only acquire stamina through practice and taking good care of themselves and each other.
If you feel like your son or daughter is not in good enough habits as yet, please continue to encourage them and we will offer further guidance and support following the outcomes of their trials.
We wish everyone the very best, and hope that by placing the examinations before Christmas this year, everyone gets to enjoy their holiday.
If you were unable to attend parents evening, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s Head of House for an update.
This week has been busy with rehearsals for our school production DNA, Duke of Edinburgh and World Challenge training evenings. These were well attended with the World Challenge Teams starting to plan their fund-raising strategies.
We are excited to be able to share with you that we have been successful in securing 48 places on a character building programme with Outward Bound in February. Having been successful in gaining subsidies and sponsorship for the programme, it is likely we will be able to offer the week away for less than £150.00. We are also looking to acquire full funding for some families. Letters, and further details will be given to Year 9 students before Christmas. all of these activities give our students the chance to build skills in teamwork, independence and resilience: so important in the world of work.
Finally, a reminder to all students and parents. Hooded sweatshirts are not part of the uniform at Thomas Alleyne’s High School. We encourage all students to wear a v necked blue or black school sweatshirt over their shirts, especially now that the weather has turned cold. We encourage them to also bring outdoor coats, and gloves. If they do bring hooded sweatshirts to school and wear these beneath or over their blazers these will be removed from them to be collected by parents as they are not part of the school uniform. We appreciate parents support with ensuring these sweatshirts, which are not part of our uniform are not brought to school.
Over the academic year we try to encourage our students to think of themselves and of others, this may be within the school, family or wider community. As a Sixth Form we want our students to be the best and to participate in as many activities as they can. With that in mind we have been lucky enough to secure a Para-Olympian, Andy Grant to come in and speak to our Year 12 students.
‘Andy Grant has been through a lot in a relatively short period of time. More than most will ever experience or will ever imagine. At 12 years old, Andy lost his mum to leukaemia, leaving him to help his dad bring up his two younger sisters. At 17, Andy decided after a year of A levels, that he needed a different challenge and was drawn into the Royal Marines by a single TV advert.
After completing the Royal Marine Commando training, he earned his coveted green beret and served in operation in Iraq and Afghanistan for nearly seven years, before being medically discharged after some very serious injuries in Afghanistan. Andy was blown up, five months into his tour to Afghanistan, which resulted in him spending two weeks in an induced coma and eighteen months in and out of hospital before Andy eventually decided to have his leg amputated for a better quality of life and for control of his future.
Since then, Andy has practiced what he preaches and lives each day like it is his last and certainly has got back the quality of life that he desired. Andy has climbed some of the highest mountains in the world, learnt to ski and surf, and recently became the fastest single leg amputee in the world over 10km; clocking a time of 37:17. He now plans to bring that 10km time down even further and plans to become the fastest single leg amputee over 5km.’
As well as this we have organised for T3 to speak to our Year 13 students. This service is designed to be accessed by students and young people. It enables them to support those they are concerned about and give them the confidence to sign post them to the correct agency. It will help them recognise signs or triggers within friendship groups and help them stay safe whilst out with friends. Nationally there is a trend of drug and substance misuse and to educate our students now is important as they make the move from a safe and supported Sixth Form to the unknown, such as university where they may mix with larger groups.
‘We help young people make informed choices about their alcohol and drug use, and to raise awareness of all the risks involved. This includes providing high quality and responsive support and assistance to parents and carers, schools, colleges, statutory services and other young person’s services and youth and community groups, enabling effective community treatment planning that reflects an inclusive approach to care co-ordination.’
We are moving towards the school deadline for UCAS applications. Many students that have sent off their application have been offered places, condition and unconditional, please could you encourage your child, if they are planning to apply, to complete their form as soon as possible.
If students are looking at taking the Apprenticeship route then many of these Higher Level Apprenticeships are currently being offered online. You can view these on Unifrog as well as the government Apprenticeship website. If you would further information on these then please contact Sixthform@tahs.org.uk.
JCQ Exam Contingency Day – Wednesday 26th June 2019
For the Summer 2019 exam series a “contingency” exam day has been arranged by the examination awarding bodies which all students need to be aware of. This contingency day for GCSE and/or A Level (or equivalent) examinations has been put in place “in the event of widespread, sustained national or local disruption to examinations during the June 2019 examination series.” The decision comes following the tragic events of last summer, namely the Manchester attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire.
The Joint Council for Qualifications have decided that they need the option to postpone an exam in the event of an incident and rearrange for a later date to allow all students a fair and equal chance. The date that has been set aside as the contingency day is Wednesday 26 June 2019. This means that all exam candidates must be available to sit exams from the date of their first exam until Wednesday 26 June 2019.
This decision is not a school decision and does apply to all candidates in all schools. Please can all students/parents/carers make a note of the new contingency exam date in the event that an awarding body needs to invoke its contingency plan.
Summer 2018 – GCSE Certificates
These will be available for collection from the dining area at the following times:
Thursday 6th December 9am -11am Friday 7th December 2pm – 3.30pm
Anybody unable to collect in person, can provide a short note to nominate a relative/friend to collect on their behalf. They must bring the note with them plus ID.
MFL Mock Exams
Well done to Year 11 for their French speaking exams – keep revising those speaking questions to have with the writing
Science
This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mrs Maingay are:
Year 10
Joshua Newbon for exemplary effort.
Year 11
Amy Podmore for exemplary efforts in revision sessions.
Well done!
PE
RE Revision
RE Revision next Saturday 10-12. Room 33A and 33B.
Drop in to go through key content, practice questions and individual support.
Christmas Concert
Mr Power is after more acts. If you have what it takes to be in the Christmas Concert this year please pop and see him ASAP!
Tickets are available from the online shop and also from Mr Power. £5 each (£3 concessions).
SUPPORT YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY!
We are excited to be able to offer parents and students an exclusive offer at TheBookPeople.co.uk. This offer will get you £5 off a £25 spend. The Book People offer a large range of books priced well below RRP and every purchase you make will help raise funds for our library!
And we’ll receive a commission on your order and you’ll receive £5 off your order (when you spend £25)!
For orders over £10, you’ll get free delivery too with the code:
ELF10
After school drop-in session
Struggling with how to revise? Want a quiet revision space? Academic referencing boggling your mind?
The library will now be opened after-school on Wednesdays from 3:05 to 4 from now until the end of term for students to get help with their studies. Many different types of support can be offered, including:
Tips for effective revision
A quiet workspace
Academic referencing support
Essay writing tips
Exam timing
Establishing a revision culture
Sourcing wider reading
And more!
Cookies and Cakes!
The Y12 English Language students will be selling a variety of cookies and cakes (many freshly baked) outside the theatre on Wednesday 5th December. This to help raise funds for them to go to London to take part in a Language Conference, where they’ll get to listen to some top linguists. Come and along and grab a sweet treat!
Art Students work part of Lichfield Cathedral Illuminations
Some of our very talented Art students and visitors from our Open Evening for Y8’s at Middle School have participated in this impressive Art instillation as part of Lichfield Cathedral’s year of Peace events. Each student considered what ‘peace’ meant and reflected on it being 100 years since the end of WW1.
Around 20,000 children in total, of all ages, have added their decorations and messages of peace to the paper doves, which are not on display in Lichfield Cathedral.
Peter Walker, Lichfield Cathedral’s Artist in Residence who created the project, said of the responses “We are extremely grateful for your hard work and look forward to welcoming everyone to see their doves at the cathedral this advent.”
The Very Revd Adrian Dorber, Dean of Lichfield, said “The messages you have written about peace have been extraordinarily thoughtful and moving, and all of us at the Cathedral are thankful that all of you have put so much effort into making these wonderful doves.”
The doves will be on display in the Cathedral from Tuesday 27th November until Saturday 5th January. We invite every child and teacher and their family and friends to come along to the Cathedral to see their doves on display.
Y13 Artist selected to Exhibit in London with RBA and ROSL
The Lichfield and Needwood Arts Society approached TAHS in June to put forward exceptional students work forward for consideration for the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) ‘Star Student’ exhibition to be held in collaboration with the Royal Overseas League (ROSL). Only 3 students from each society were eligible to enter so the standard was exceptional from the start.
Livia Robinson from Y13 has had her work selected to form part of a prestigious exhibition in London Next Year. From a field of 247 entries extremely high caliber students from Arts Society’s across the country, only approximately 20 were selected for exhibition. The chosen students will have their work exhibited along side professional artists and be open to the public after a VIP private view in April for the ROSL exhibition at Over-Seas House in London and July for the RBA exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London next year.
We are delighted that Livia has made it through as she is a dedicated Art and Photography student, who is currently in the process of gaining an undergraduate degree BA Hons in a creative Arts course in either design or illustration at university, this has come at a great time for her to discuss at interview and to start of her future career in the Arts with such recognition of her talents.
Her image of a skull, created using water-colour, ink and pen is both an impressive observational study and a piece full of mood and atmosphere. Well Done Livia!
Links
Follow the links to; School Website, Facebook, Twitter & our Online Shop
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If there are any changes you would like to see please let us know.
On Friday, a group of our Year 13 students were given the opportunity to participate in a public speaking training session delivered by the charity ‘Talk the Talk.’
Year 11 were invited to participate in The National Citizenship Programme and Year viewed the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Romeo and Juliet.
It was my pleasure to join Miss Robinson’s form group to share GCSEpod with them and to see so many of our year 11 and 13 students working towards their mock examinations.
What a success Year 13 Parents evening was. So many of you attended and we had apologise from many that could not attend. It is good to listen to the advice of their subject teachers and to reiterate how important it is to apply themselves early to their revision rather than leaving it to the last minute. We want our students to succeed and revision is one in which they can take control of their future. Encourage your son or daughter to speak to their subject teachers early if they are worried about a specific topic or question style.
Today we were able to give 21 Year 12 and 13 students the opportunity to gain skills and confidence with public speaking. Talk the Talk who support the idea of confident communication for life were able to share strategies to enable those that participated to enable them to stand in front of their peers and talk about themselves for three to five minutes. It is very difficult to find strengths about yourself but they managed it. All the Sixth Form Team were involved in the event and we all believe that it served them well. Mrs Dodd managed to take a photograph of them all completing an exercise on eye contact.
During lunchtime on Friday 23rd November Thomas Alleyne’s Senior prefects pulled off yet another successful “doughnut day”. The team of Prefects partnered up with the Derby branch of Krispy Kreme to order 600 donuts. All the effort was worth it as all 600 donuts were sold and over £220.00! profit was raised. The profits will be donated to the Sixth Form Forever Charity the Douglas Macmillan Hospice. The Senior Prefect’s would like to thank everyone who purchased doughnuts to help raise the money.
Winter Fayre
There was fantastic news last weekend from the Annual Winter Fayre. The school farm took 7 pairs of sheep to the country show ground in Stafford to take part in the schools competition on Saturday and young handlers on Sunday. We were competing against Abbotsholme and Rodbaston Agricultural college in the schools competition and came away with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th prize out of 13 entries. The students who showed the sheep were superb and a real credit to the school.
On Sunday, the students were back again to take part in the young handlers competition where they were competing against very experienced handlers. Again our students, most of whom had never been in a show ring before, displayed confidence and competence and performed extremely well. Particular praise goes to Ellie Roobottom who was placed 4th out of 23 entries.
Vet Skills
This week students were looking at livestock reproduction and the vet was able to bring in the uterus of cow for demonstration purposes. The students learnt about the structure of the female reproductive system of a cow and how AI is used in livestock husbandry. One uterus was from a cow that was 3 months pregnant so students were able to see the development of the foetus as well. It was a fascinating session.
Mock Exams
Please make sure you are using your revision guide, revision cards and practice questions in your pack. We will be running a revision session on Saturday 8th December between 10 and 12. 33B will be a review of content of each area that is likely to be assessed. 33A will be available for practice questions, informal revision and the opportunity to ask any relevant questions to a teacher.
Please take up this support to prepare for your mock exams.
JCQ Exam Contingency Day – Wednesday 26th June 2019
For the Summer 2019 exam series a “contingency” exam day has been arranged by the examination awarding bodies which all students need to be aware of. This contingency day for GCSE and/or A Level (or equivalent) examinations has been put in place “in the event of widespread, sustained national or local disruption to examinations during the June 2019 examination series.” The decision comes following the tragic events of last summer, namely the Manchester attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire.
The Joint Council for Qualifications have decided that they need the option to postpone an exam in the event of an incident and rearrange for a later date to allow all students a fair and equal chance. The date that has been set aside as the contingency day is Wednesday 26 June 2019. This means that all exam candidates must be available to sit exams from the date of their first exam until Wednesday 26 June 2019.
This decision is not a school decision and does apply to all candidates in all schools. Please can all students/parents/carers make a note of the new contingency exam date in the event that an awarding body needs to invoke its contingency plan.
Summer 2018 – GCSE Certificates
These will be available for collection from the dining area at the following times:
Thursday 6th December 9am -11am Friday 7th December 2pm – 3.30pm
Anybody unable to collect in person, can provide a short note to nominate a relative/friend to collect on their behalf. They must bring the note with them plus ID.
Interventions
Please see the latest interventions timetable under this link….
Mock GCSE French speaking exams next week in room 26. Times outside room 23. Bonne Chance
Science
This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mrs North are:
Year 10
Anna Adams and Orla Hodgkinson for excellent effort in lessons.
Year 11
Charlotte McAteer, Georgia Cocke and Samantha Cotterill for excellent effort in homework tasks.
This week’s Animal Care Students of the Week selected by Mr Gilson are:
Year 10
Laura Backhouse, Felicity Burgess, Amelie Coyne, Saffron Forrester and Millie Hodges for excellent sheep handling at the English Fair held at the Staffordshire County Showground.
Year 11
Rachel Spence and Joe Porritt for determination in Animal Care.
Well done!
PE
Another of our House matches took place during Thursday. This time it was the turn of Girls House Hockey. First up was the Year 9 girls who all turned up with full teams, meaning over 45 students were involved. A special thanks goes to Tom Reddington who helped to umpire both sets of house matches. All teams played each other and 1st place went to Orme who won 2 matches and drew another. Torrance and Whitmore got joint second place after getting 6 points each, leaving Elkes to take last place. Then the mixed Year 10 and 11 teams took to the astro. Again all houses presented full teams meaning nearly 100 girls took part in House Hockey in total. Unfortunately there were very little goals in this set of matches. The first 5 games were 0-0 meaning the last game had everything to play for. Elkes scored in the last minute to not only win the game but also the competition. Whitmore and Torrance were again joint second with Orme in last place. Well done to all students involved, everyone has received credits for participating and representing their house.
Netball
The Year 9 netball team played their first game on Thursday against John Taylor. The result did not go TAHS’ way, suffering a 15-3 defeat.John Taylor played some excellent netball and controlled possession of the ball having the experience of playing together longer than TAHS.Our girls showed composure when in possession of the ball and tried to keep the passing range short to reduce interceptions.Player of the match was Evie Robins. Next game is on Tuesday against John Port away.
U14 House Rugby
On Thursday the next round of the House Competition took place with boys Rugby Union. Results Elkes 7 – Orme 0, Torrance 0 – Whitmore 7, Elkes 12 – Whitmore 0, Orme 5 – Torrance 0, Elkes 0 – Torrance 0, Whitmore 0 – Orme 0
1st Elkes, 2nd Whitmore & Orme, 4th Torrance
U16 House Rugby
1st Torrance, 2nd Whitmore, 3rd Elkes
U14 County Cup Basketball
Thomas Alleyne’s beat Clayton High
Geography news…
Well done last week to the 23 year 11s who stayed after school to attend a revision session for their mocks. All year 11s welcome to attend. Every Friday 3:10 – 4pm in 6b and 6a.
Year 13…Reminder that the next part of your coursework – Data presentation is due in on Friday November 23rd. Any student needing help should pop into 6b and see Mrs Goodwin on Tuesday lunchtime.
Maths Puzzle October 2018
Mr Black wanted to buy a piece of land. However, he is eccentric and wants the plot of land to be
1. Triangular – a right angled triangle
2. The area in square metres must be exactly ten times the perimeter in metres
3. The perimeter must be less than 240 metre
4. Each side must be an exact number of metres(an integer)
So what are the dimensions of the plot
Solutions to Mr Askey
History
Year 11 have been completing knowledge quizzes in class and at home as part of preparation for mock exams. You can support students by asking to see the quiz they are currently working on and testing them on their subject knowledge.
Year 13 students should, by now, have a good overall knowledge of all aspects of Year 12 and 13 work and be concentrating on learning precise pieces of evidence to include in written work. You can support students by using their exercise books to test them on their subject knowledge.
It’s really encouraging that lots of students are attending after school revision sessions. Mrs Young and Mrs Johnson are available Tuesday – Friday after school and every lunch time.
Year 9 have been looking at World War One propaganda. Follow the link to see some very lovely examples of their work.
Well done to our year 11 pupils…A great turn out at the last 2 revision revision sessions. 32 and 36 pupils! Lets make it 40 next week. Come to 6a and 6b at 3:10 – 4pm, next weeks topic will be the Holderness Coast.
Links
Follow the links to; School Website, Facebook, Twitter & our Online Shop
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If there are any changes you would like to see please let us know.
On Thursday evening, I had the pleasure of attending our Senior Prize Giving. It was a privilege to celebrate students’ achievements and to listen to our guest speaker Mrs Liz Abram.
At the end of Liz’s talk, she shared with us these tips:
Trust your instincts. If it feels wrong don’t do it.
Say exactly what you mean.
Never speak badly of, or to yourself.
Don’t be afraid to say no.
Don’t be afraid to say yes.
Be kind to yourself.
Stay away from drama.
Don’t be a people pleaser.
Stay away from negativity.
Let go of what you can’t control.
Love.
If you can be anything, be kind.
Stay patient and trust your journey.
Choose your habits with care; they decide your future.
The things you are passionate about are not random, they are your calling.
My thanks to Liz for her inspirational speech. Thank you also to our chair of governors, Mr Mike Prescott, to our talented musicians and Oki our lighting crew!
We are now just 20 school days away from Year 11 and Year 13 mock examinations. You will see an intervention schedule later in the newsletter to support students. In order to provide resources for all subjects, we continue to fund GCSEpod for students. Whilst many students have clearly put in place a detailed revision plan, some have not streamed any podcasts. Please encourage them to do so as we know it leads to building good habits and subsequent success.
Finally well done to the staff and students who are working incredibly hard on our school production of DNA. It will be a fantastic show dates for your diary are for the 4th, 5th and 6th December.
Original Krispy Kreme Glazed Doughnuts
On Friday 23rd November Thomas Alleyne’s Sixth Form are organising a ‘Doughnut Day’. All profits made will go the 6th Form’s Forever Charity – Douglas Macmillan Hospice.
Famous Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnuts will be on sale at break time and lunch time where students and staff will be able to purchase them. The Doughnuts will be sold at £1.00 each or £10.00 for a box of a 12, considerably cheaper than retail price!
We hope we can rely on your support for the fundraiser and that you make the most of the opportunity to taste some fantastic doughnuts and raise some ‘dough’!
Thank you 6th Form
On Friday 16th November, 4 members of Uttoxeter Lions came to school and presented students with a certificate of appreciation for their support raising money for the Indonesia appeal.
Other Lions news: please continue to bring in old spectacles, hearing aids or mobile phones for the Lions recycling scheme. Well done to students who are already logging hours as part of the Young Leaders In Service scheme. If you require any further information about these, please contact Mrs Bell.
Mock Exams
Please make sure you are using your revision guide, revision cards and practice questions in your pack. We will be running a revision session on Saturday 8th December between 10 and 12. 33B will be a review of content of each area that is likely to be assessed. 33A will be available for practice questions, informal revision and the opportunity to ask any relevant questions to a teacher.
Please take up this support to prepare for your mock exams.
JCQ Exam Contingency Day – Wednesday 26th June 2019
For the Summer 2019 exam series a “contingency” exam day has been arranged by the examination awarding bodies which all students need to be aware of. This contingency day for GCSE and/or A Level (or equivalent) examinations has been put in place “in the event of widespread, sustained national or local disruption to examinations during the June 2019 examination series.” The decision comes following the tragic events of last summer, namely the Manchester attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire.
The Joint Council for Qualifications have decided that they need the option to postpone an exam in the event of an incident and rearrange for a later date to allow all students a fair and equal chance. The date that has been set aside as the contingency day is Wednesday 26 June 2019. This means that all exam candidates must be available to sit exams from the date of their first exam until Wednesday 26 June 2019.
This decision is not a school decision and does apply to all candidates in all schools. Please can all students/parents/carers make a note of the new contingency exam date in the event that an awarding body needs to invoke its contingency plan.
Interventions
Please see the latest interventions timetable under this link….
This year Sean and Carl in our sixth form have been succesful in winning the inclusive and paired category of the artistic iceskating competition in Uttoxeter which was judged by professionals from Dancing on Ice. Carl then went on to win the national artistic competition.
On Saturday 8th December Carl and Sean, along with many of our students, will be performing in their 5th Christmas Show at Uttoxeter, Cinderella on Ice.
Ice skating is clearly a fantastic way to develop teamwork, communication, health, determination, confidence and friendships .
This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mr Crum are:
Year 9
Maddy Capewell for consistent excellent effort and attainment
Isla McFadzean for smashing her target grade in her first assessment
Kacper Wielechowski for excellent performance in his assessments
Year 10
Kyle Elcock for his really positive attitude to Science
Aiden White for a massive improvement in Science
Year 11
Dan Hensman for consistent excellence in Chemistry
Danielle Ashmore for superb effort in Chemistry
Well done!
PE
U16 County Cup Football 2nd Round
On Thursday we travelled to Sir Graham Balfour in Stafford for the 2nd round of the county cup. In great Autumn weather conditions we began well but conceded from a direct free kick. We fought back well and a scored an equaliser via a corner from Archie McNair which was slid home by Frankie Bussell. The game was then end to end with it being clear that the score was going to be close. Sub Lewie Thornton made a great impact holding the ball up and won a penalty which captain Bussell slotted into the bottom corner.
Next round of House Matches is on Thursday. See your Head of House for team lists.
Geography news…
Well done last week to the 23 year 11s who stayed after school to attend a revision session for their mocks. All year 11s welcome to attend. Every Friday 3:10 – 4pm in 6b and 6a.
Year 13…Reminder that the next part of your coursework – Data presentation is due in on Friday November 23rd. Any student needing help should pop into 6b and see Mrs Goodwin on Tuesday lunchtime.
Maths Puzzle October 2018
Mr Black wanted to buy a piece of land. However, he is eccentric and wants the plot of land to be
1. Triangular – a right angled triangle
2. The area in square metres must be exactly ten times the perimeter in metres
3. The perimeter must be less than 240 metre
4. Each side must be an exact number of metres(an integer)
So what are the dimensions of the plot
Solutions to Mr Askey
News from the MFL Department
Y11 French should be revising for their mock speaking exams week beginning 26.11.18 -three themes especially the chosen theme as well as vocabulary and structures.
Bonne Chance!
History
In the run up to mock exams, it is great to see Year 11 students attending lunchtime and after school revision sessions. These run every lunchtime and after school Wednesday to Friday with Mrs Young and Mrs Johnson. We are available to answer any questions and help students learn the content of the course. If students are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the task ahead of them then these sessions are a good place to find help with planning revision and identifying key areas to focus on.
Links
Follow the links to; School Website, Facebook, Twitter & our Online Shop
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If there are any changes you would like to see please let us know.
16/11/2018 Own Clothes Day for Children in Need (£1)
19/11/2018 PTA Meeting
20/11/2018 – Y13 Parents Evening
29/11/2018 – Y11 Parents Evening
20/12/2018 – Last day of term
21/12/2018 – Inset Day
Headteacher blog:
On Friday evening, our PTA organised their annual Quiz night.In just one night, they managed to raise over £1000 for pupils in school. Thanks to everyone involved. As many people will know, funding for schools is incredibly tight and the funds the PTA raise are much valued by our staff and the students who benefit.
On that note, if you are shopping in Tesco next week, we would appreciate your support in helping us raise funds for the repair of the swimming pool. We are thrilled that we have been selected as one of the charities supported by Tesco’s Bags of Help scheme. A local community grant scheme, which uses the money raised from carrier bag sales to fund local projects across Britain. Each time you shop you will be offered a blue token at the checkout and be able to vote for the project they want the money to go to. Every two months they hand out grants of up to £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000. We are hoping to raise £4000 towards the refurbishment of the changing rooms so please pick up a token and vote for us!
Twice this week, I met with students who have been excelling in their work. Initially, I met with a small group of about 12 students who have streamed more podcasts than anyone else. What they all had in common, was that have incredible work ethics and have been quietly working at home to ensure they understand all that they have been taught. Then at the end of the week, I joined 40 of our Year 11 ,12 and 13 students who have stood out for their attitude and the progress they are making. It was a pleasure to share a Headteacher breakfast celebration with them.
On Sunday, we have been invited by the Uttoxeter Branch of the British Legion and The Town Council to join the Remembrance Parade. I look forward to accompanying two of our sixth formers who will be laying our wreathe on the Town’s War Memorial. This follows a week of remembrance assemblies which have been led by our sixth formers and Mrs Fisher.
Well done to the Year 13 students who delivered a wonderful and thought provoking Remembrance assembly this week. The mature level in which they spoke in front of all year groups and the composure they showed when speaking about the three Alcock brothers who died in World War One was admirable.
As this Autumn term continue we would like to remind parents and carers that the Year 13 mock exams will be before the end of term this year which means that all students should be creating revision materials and preparing to be as successful as they can. To start now and to continue after the exams in December will certainly have a positive impact on their A Level exams in May and June of next year.
With this in mind I must also remind you that personal statements for UCAS and Apprenticeship applications should be completed. Their form tutors, subject teachers and EPQ teachers are there to read them through and give advice. We have sent some UCAS applications off already and I am aware that there will be more ready to be sent on Monday morning.
Monthly Parents’ Pack full of apprenticeship resources!
Take a look at the very first National Apprenticeship Service Parents’ Pack.
The monthly pack, designed to be shared through school channels, is full of resources aimed at helping parents understand the benefits of apprenticeships.
October’s edition includes translated resources, dates for your diary and a useful guide highlighting 6 easy ways to keep informed about apprenticeships. There are also links to more packs with apprenticeship information.
As you are aware we recently started collecting spectacles, hearing aids and mobile phones on behalf of Uttoxeter Lions. They came to empty the recycling bin for the first time this week and we are pleased to say that we have collected the following:
Spectacles – 21
Hearing Aids – 8
Uttoxeter Lions are extremely pleased with the start the school has made. The recycling bin is located outside the 6th Form office. Lower school students can take their contributions to Mrs Bell in Room 11.
Elevate
This week Elevate came in again to do a session with our students on Time Management. They looked at how to create a revision timetable and focussed on fitting in their hobbies and fun activities first and putting revision time around it to encourage motivation.
They also recommended putting a photo above your desk of what you are aiming for. For example displaying a photo of the college or apprenticeship you want to go to in order to keep motivated.
The last session will be on Monday 21st January and is titled ‘Ace your exams’
Please have a look at the student portal on the elevate website where you can download resources to support your child with their study. The website link and password is as follows:
There will be a Business revision session on a Tuesday after school in Room 45 for the next four weeks to help prepare students for their mock exams.
The session will run from 3.10 until 3.45.
Worthy Mentions
Hannah Davis is a competitive cyclist and part of Derby Youth Track league and is currently 2nd in the league. Her ambition and commitment to cycling has been fantastic, especially being able to manage this around her studies. Well Done Hannah!
Many of the Thomas Alleyne’s girls are involved in the Girls Under 15’s Burton Rugby Club team. Jess Banner,Holly Sutton, Madi Porritt, Neve Peaty, Lucy Caladine and Holly Chatfield are currently unbeaten in the season’s games so far, showing grit and determination alongside great communication and team play. Well Done to these students!
MFL News
MFL Y11 are continuing to work on speaking topics in preparation for their mock speaking exams week beginning 26th November.
There is revision after school on Fridays after school in room 10 3.05-3.45 week 1 higher, week 2 foundation. In addition there will be a challenge group on Tuesdays at 3.05 in room 23 looking at grammar, skills and structures to aim for grade 8 or 9.
Y10 are revising for an an assessment on the topic on holidays in lesson next week.
Bonne chance.
Train to Teach
Train to Teach Event 4pm – 7pm Wednesday 14th November 2018 Staffordshire University Science Centre, Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2DF
We will be on hand to discuss how you can now train to become a teacher at the Uttoxeter Learning Trust Teaching School”
This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mr Gilson are:
Year 9
Abbey Holgate and Danny Bekker for achieving excellent results in their first “Cells” assessment.
Year 10
Ben Salt and Oliver Taylor for achieving consistently excellent results in the “Bioenergetics module”.
Year 11
Natasha Painter and Jack Wright for achieving consistently excellent results in the “Infection and Response” module.
This week’s Animal Care Students of the Week selected by Mrs North are:
Year 10
Annabelle Jones for excellent work halter training the sheep.
Tammin Hudson for excellent coursework on handling rabbits.
Year 11
Rowan Hall and Lydia Heath for excellent homework and commitment in Animal Care.
Well done!
PE
East Staffs Cross Country Championships
On Tuesday we made the short trip to Oldfields for the district cross country championships. We took full teams in the Year 9 boys, year 9 girls, year 10/11 boys and year 10/11 girls competitions. Star performer in the year 9 race was Leighton Thomas who came 2nd overall.
In year 10/11 Owen Carrington finished in 3rd place but it was the team that took the glory finishing in 1st place overall. The team was Richard Wasson, Nathan Winstanley, Euan Walsh, Max Houghton and Owen Carrington.
Burton & District Football Association Cup Semi Final U16 Boys
Thursday saw Thomas Alleyne’s host Repton in the U16 B&D cup semi final. With Repton’s rich pedigree in the sport we were clear underdogs but went into the game full of confidence. The first half saw us have the better of the play but apart from a goal mouth scramble that was cleared off the line we couldn’t create any real clear cut chances.
In the second half the wind became much stronger and made it hard for us to get out of our own half. Repton built pressure but we defended well and were always a threat on the break and at set pieces. Eventually the pressure told and Repton took the lead, we carried on fighting to the end but it was not to be our day.
Man of The Match- Harvey Belcher Team- Belcher, Ball, Shaw, Ford, Bosworth, Archer, Dawson, Bussell, McNair, Hunt, Martin, Thornton, Walker, Simon
Here is the latest video report from our budding sports reporter Max….
Please can you return the completed data collection sheets to the school as soon as possible.
Maths Puzzle October 2018
Mr Black wanted to buy a piece of land. However, he is eccentric and wants the plot of land to be
1. Triangular – a right angled triangle
2. The area in square metres must be exactly ten times the perimeter in metres
3. The perimeter must be less than 240 metre
4. Each side must be an exact number of metres(an integer)
So what are the dimensions of the plot
Solutions to Mr Askey
Non uniform day next Friday 16th
£1 minimum donation please.
Half of the money will be going to Children in Need and half will be going towards providing emotional well-being counselling for Thomas Alleyne’s students.
Links
Follow the links to; School Website, Facebook, Twitter & our Online Shop
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If there are any changes you would like to see please let us know.
We are now at an exciting stage in the planning of our new build which will be located on the site of our current pavilion. The new block will include a multi/gym or dance studio, 3 new classrooms, new changing rooms and toilets for students. As you can see from the artist impression below, it is a exciting addition to the school environment and one which we hope to have ready for students and staff in 12 months time. The work we did to extend the canteen over the Summer has proved popular with students and we have found that the sixth form are increasingly using it as a place for them to complete their independent work. We are close to finalising the work on the swimming pool in the hope we are able to re-open it in Easter next year.
Thank you to all parents and students for your support this half term. We hope you have a lovely break and look forward to seeing you back on Tuesday 6th November.
Year 11 Pre Mock Interventions
Interventions will be starting in earnest after half term and the full timetable can be seen below:
Well done to all the students who have met the coursework completion deadline. Year 13’s next task is revision for mock exams. If this has not already started then it must be begun during half-term – make sure that you refer to the year 12 topic revision document given to you in lessons.
Year 11
All year 11 have been set a holiday homework of reviewing and learning the answers to the GCSE quiz sheets. Recap knowledge tests based on year 10 work will begin after half-term in class. Don’t forget that if there is anything students don’t understand, then revision classes are available at lunchtime and after school – see Mrs Johnson and Mrs Young for details.
World Challenge
It’s exciting to hear that your child is keen to join the Thomas Alleyne’s High School expedition team to Malawi in July 2020. Mr Gilson has an information pack for your child to bring home about the trip, and if you click on the pictures below you will be able to watch the “Safety” and “Our traveller” video’s that were played as part of the information evening.
Malawi is known as the warm heart of Africa, its people are incredibly friendly, and it has excellent travel opportunities and fascinating cultures for a student led expedition. While in Malawi the team will trek through tea plantations to reach the high Zomba Plateau and hike the Mulanje Massif to reach 2684m with fabulous views. They will take part in a community project learning about Malawi life and culture first hand and giving something back by improving facilities at a local school. The boat and land safaris at Liwande National park will be a highlight, and there will be time to relax at Monkey Bay on the shores of Lake Malawi too.
The Cost of the 4 week expedition is £4350 this includes Flights to and from Malawi, all transport during the expedition in country, all accommodation costs (tents are provided), all food, a 2 day training weekend in the UK next year, full safety and backup including expedition leaders, and comprehensive medical insurance. Other costs to consider include personal kit and equipment eg clothing, rucksack and boots, pre departure withdrawal insurance, Vaccinations and Visas, kit insurance, UK transport and pocket money for treats and souvenirs (max £200).
A tradition has grown at World Challenge over the last 30 years for students to raise as much of their own expedition fee as they can themselves. Popular ideas include getting a part time job, baby sitting, or mowing lawns, making and selling things at Christmas craft fayres or bake sales, team car washes and supermarket bag packing or big theme nights raise lots too.
There will be meetings in school to help with organising fundraising events for the expedition fee. It is important that your child has some ideas of their own too, as we can’t do it for them. World Challenge have lots of resources and ideas on the members area of our website to help your child with their fundraising, which you will have access to if they sign up.
If after looking through the information you would like your child to participate, please apply following the instructions below or on the paper application form in the information pack by the 9th November.
Verify your email address by clicking the link in the verification email we send you.
Complete the online application in full and pay your first instalment, you will have full access to My World Challenge straight away.
There is lots more information in the pack your child will be bringing home, if you have any questions or would like to discuss any aspect of the expedition please call our customer support team on 01494 427600.
The deadline for signing up for World Challenge (Malawi 2020) is Friday 9th November. Applications can be made through postal application from the brochure handed out on the parents’ evening or more easily completed online by going to the World Challenge website, again full details of how to apply are also outlined in the brochure. If you require a brochure or further help please do not hesitate to contact Mr Gilson.
MFL News
Congratulations to all those Y9 who did well in the family assessment – praise cards to follow.
Y11 French are choosing and writing up their chosen theme for the speaking exam to be handed in the first lesson after half term.
5 Y10 students are are waiting to find out their exchange partners.
Y10 French should be preparing their holidays questions to hand in in their first French lesson after half term and revising for an assessment.
Bonnes vacances
Geography
Geography year 13
Students should have handed in chapter 1 and 2 of their coursework – the introduction and methodology sections. Over half term students should spend time on collecting their primary data and its presentation. Please see Mr Washbourne or Mrs Goodwin if there are any questions about this.
Geography year 11
Well done to the 14 year 11 pupils who stayed behind last Friday to spend time revising urbanisation. There will be after school revision every Friday from 3:10 – 4pm to help pupils prepare for their mock exams. All pupils welcome.
Science
This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mrs Evans are:
Year 9
Louisa Page and Jack Smart for two fantastic assessment test scores in Chemistry.
Year 10
George Foster and Saffron Forrester for continually working hard in Chemistry.
Year 11
Tya Messer and Leyton Tyers for consistently being above their target grade in Chemistry.
Well done!
PE
Girls Rugby
On Thursday the girls travelled to Burton Rugby to compete in a festival which also involved players from Robert Sutton and Pingle.
The competition started with a full 15 a side game which was played to a really high standard with some big hits, great runs and solid ball distribution. The experience and power from TAHS meant that we dominated the score line but scoring 6 tries Maddie Porritt x 2, Molly Beresford x 2, Heather Leech & Lucy Calladine, finishing off some strong runs from their team mates.
The festival then broke down into smaller sided games again TAHS were dominant but this allowed for more development of individual players.
A fantastic performance backed up by lots of singing on the minibus journey home.
The first 11 a side game of football this season ended in a crushing 8-0 defeat from Westwood.
However there were many positives to take away from the game with every player improving and becoming more confident on the ball as the game progressed.
Team – Klaudia Siwek, Courtney Bogacki, Jemima Pope, Ava Shenton, Harriet Bebbington, Charlotte Ward, Mia Beavan, Phoebe Lawrie, Isabel Rose, Ellie Avery, Millie Yates, Georgia Edwards
Year 9 Boys Rugby
On Wednesday last our year 9 rugby team travelled to Burton Rugby Club for the district tournament. This was the teams debut for school and some excellent rugby was played. In great conditions we got through to the 3rd / 4th playoff against Paulet. Our experience of earlier games began yo pay off as we scored some scintillating tries and racked up a good score.
U16 County Cup Rugby v St Josephs College
Report to follow after half term.
District Cross Country- First day back. All runners selected should have received a parent text.
Year 9 Basketball- practice first day back 3.05. First fixture Wednesday 7th Nov
Year 11 Football – Semi final v Repton at home Thu 8th Nov
For further information about the opportunities to train to teach please e-mail – teachingschool@tahs.org.uk or telephone 01889 561820 please ask for the Teaching School, where we will be happy to offer guidance.
Maths Puzzle October 2018
You have until the end of this coming week to get your answers in…..
How Old is John?
Mum’s age in two years’ time divided by John’s age now , then added to John’s age comes to two-thirds of what Mum was when John was born. And today it is Mum’s and John’s birthday.
How old is John?
Maths Puzzle – Solution Mum 37 John 13 or Mum 26 John 2
Winners ‘How Old is John?’
Peter Taylor (Governor)
Mrs BA Davies (Governor)
Well done – See Mr Askey for your prize
Your Staffordshire Card
The Your Staffordshire Card scheme is ending on 31 August 2019
Staffordshire County Council like many councils are facing unprecedented financial challenges not of our making due to the increasing costs of funding adult social care and children’s care – at a time when national funding to councils continues to fall.
The decision has been made to phase out financial support for the Your Staffordshire Card (YSC) youth scheme. In the past you have helped to promote the scheme and we would like you to display the attached poster and let your students know of the closure if possible.
This means that from 31 August 2019 the pass will no longer be accepted for discounted travel on buses. We will honour passes to that date.
Individual responses will not be provided but all comments will be noted.
House Trophy
The House Trophy competition for this half-term is incredibly close, with each house having a success in at least one event. There is still plenty to play for, especially with regards to achieving credits and attendance to school. Elkes house have come 2nd in 5 competitions so far, which is a fantastic achievement for where they stand at the moment. Orme house came first in the Y9 Girls Cross-Country and Attendance, whereas Torrance have been first in Y9 Boys Cross-Country, Y9 Handball and Credits. Whitmore have been equally successful in coming first in Y10/11 Girls and Boys Cross-Country as well as the Y10/11 Handball Competitions. The leaderboard stands as follows:
1st Elkes – 40 points
2nd Torrance & Whitmore – 39 Points
3rd Orme – 32 Points
Could this be the closest year yet for the Thomas Alleyne’s House Competition? Plenty to play for in the next half-term with:
Credits
Attendance
House Hockey
House Rugby
Art
Year 9 Sculptures!
In year 9 art class this term we have been looking at key visual elements such as colour, patttern, space, shape and form. Also investigating the artist Hundertwasser, and had our drawing assessment from direct observation of a shoe. Drawing with line and using tone to emphasise the illusion of form and texture. At home we have been looking at our design work from imagination and referencing Hundertwasser’s work, ready to challenge ourselves with a 3D construction.
Well done to those groups who have already finished their first independent learning task based on the artist Hundertwasser.
We have had some super inventive designs, creative use of reclaimed materials such as crisp tubes, drinks bottles, lollipop sticks and one even made entirely from crochet!
We are looking forward to seeing the rest of year 9 art groups completing their own sculptures shortly. If you are not sure what date to hand in your work please check INSIGHT.
These works will be photographed for your sketchbook, left on display then all being well returned home for you to keep.
Reports
Year 11 & 13 reports are available on Insight.
Respect Programme – Autumn 2
The themes for the next half-term now moves onto some current challenges that young people are faced with day-in, day-out. It is vital that if you have any concerns about the material, that you contact your child’s Head of House or Form Tutor to discuss any of these issues. All students will be studying e-safety, however each Year group will focus particularly on:
Year 9:
Safeguarding
Consequences of Cyber Bullying
Social Media and the Law
Cyber Bullying Situations
Being Impersonated on Social Media
Fraping
Sexting
Year 10 & 11:
Web Evaluation
Filesharing and Copyright Infringement
Digital Footprint
Ratings and Responses Websites
Creative Commons Licesing and Copyright
How to Avoid Fraud
Hijacked Videos
Year 11 will also have a focus towards their Mock examinations as we get closer to Christmas. So may look at revision techniques with their Tutors.
Links
Follow the links to; School Website, Facebook, Twitter & our Online Shop
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If there are any changes you would like to see please let us know.
This week, Year 9 students, have had the opportunity to attend ‘Talk the Talk’ training sessions to develop their own public speaking. The ‘Talk the Talk’ facilitators said it was a pleasure to work with them and have selected a group of 20 to meet with me next week to share what they have learnt from the experience.
Because of the importance of public speaking, and our desire to make sure that Thomas Alleyne’s students can compete against the very best, we have decided to offer 30 Year 12 senior students the opportunity to complete the Talk about the Future course. They will have the chance to identify employability skills, develop interview skills, nurture their presentation skills and make sure they are ready to take their next step into employment, apprenticeships or Further Education, with confidence and a positive mindset.
On Friday, I attended the World Challenge assembly for Year 12 students inviting students to attend an information evening on Thursday next week, to find out more about the expedition to Malawi. It looks like an incredible opportunity for our young people and it was wonderful to share Tom Ellis’s book of photographs with them from last year’s trip
Thank you for a fabulous turn out for our Year 11 revision evening. So many of our young people are getting prepared already and making sure that they are ready for their mock examinations. We are always keen to help them with the techniques they use to revise.
I can never keep up with all the news from our PE department but I did hear that our girls had been victorious in netball this week against DeFerrer’s Academy. Congratulations to the whole team. DNA (school production) rehearsals continue after school and I can’t wait to see the play just before Christmas.
I also had the privilege of joining one Year 9 form this week to show them GCSEpod. Year 9 are using the podcasts to revisit learning from their lessons so make sure they have understood the content. As parents we suggest you encourage them to stream a minimum of 3 pods a week. Year 11 students have now streamed over 16,500 podcasts in preparation for their final exams.
As we approach Half Term I would like to pass on to parents and carers that we are very proud of the work of our students. Over the break we would like to remind students that this is a time for reflection. Think about what has gone well and what can be improved upon. The mock examinations for Year 13 are before Christmas this year so creating flashcards, mind maps and completing past papers would be a useful way to spend the days. For those working towards Maths and English Resit examinations then use this time well. Before next Friday speak to your teachers and collect a range of materials that you can use to support your independent revision. Remember that there is an exam on the 5th November, which is an inset day, so if you normally come to school on a school bus then you will need to find alternative travel arrangements. At TAHS we promote the ethos of supporting and also being part of the wider community. We are pleased to announce that we have been asked to help support the Uttoxeter Lions. They are a worthwhile charitable organisation who help many causes across the Uttoxeter area. As a member of the Uttoxeter and wider area community I have always supported their charitable efforts and as a school we have now been asked to help from within the school. We would like to ask if you would like to help. Uttoxeter Lions has given us a recycling bin for old specs, hearing aids and mobile phones. It is in the reception area outside Mrs Walton’s office where Sixth Form students can put their items; students in lower school can bring their items to Mrs Bell in room 11. We will giving credits for every item received. We do ask, and this is very important, that all phones have all the data deleted from them and that the passcodes are removed. If the passcode is still on them then the Uttoxeter Lions will not be able to use them.
Below is a statement that the Lions Club have provided: Recycling Spectacles & Hearing aids is a long established Lions Club International project. It goes under the banner of “Recycle For Sight”. It is aimed at improving the sight & hearing of people in countries around the globe. What we collect in Uttoxeter is sent to our Chichester branch who sort & do simple repairs before dispatching them to organisations on the ground. There is no “sale” involved at any stage. Spectacles etc are donated free, repaired free, fitted with prescription lenses free & passed to the new recipients free of charge. Transport, packaging & labour etc is all donated by the local lions club involved in the recycling. Broken, precious metal, frames (e g Gold) are sold centrally and the income from this finances the purchase of new lenses etc. In Uttoxeter we started recycling in October 2014 & so far have recycled 5000 pairs of spectacles. The UK annually dispatches over 300,000 pairs and globally this figure rises to around 1 million pairs.
If you would like to find out about schemes similar to the Uttoxeter Lions’ who have helped many people across Africa with their sight bus that performs minor surgery (eg for cataracts) as well as giving out spectacles then please follow the links provided.
All year 11 have now sat their end of unit exam on the American-West, 1835 – 1895. Well done to those who achieved their target grade or higher.
The big lesson for everyone from the exam is the need to use precise examples in written answers. You can help students to do this by ensuring that they have revised thoroughly at home and have learnt the material in their exercise books. All students have quiz questions and answers which you can use to test their knowledge.
World Challenge
Please come along to the school theatre on Thursday 25th October from 18:30 to 20:00 hrs where there will be a presentation from Karen Holloway and Mr Gilson about the next World Challenge Expedition to Malawi in 2020. Kindly note, there will be a question and answer session following the end of the presentation. We look forward to seeing you there.
MFL News
Year 9 French have an assessment next week on the self and family topic – revision is on Insight
Login details have been sent to the registered email address we hold on our system, please check you mail, including junk for an email from insight@tahs.org.uk.
Heads of House will also be available on the evening on a drop in basis.
If you have not received this please email insight@tahs.org.uk stating:
The email address you wish to use
Your name
Your child’s name and tutor group
The first line of your address
PTA Meeting
Monday 19th November, 7pm in the staffroom.
All welcome.
Science
This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mr Melland are:
Year 9
Leanne Painter and Millie Yates for attainment in Physics.
Year 10
Honor Christie and Chloe Yates for effort and progression.
Year 11
Charlie Cope and Korey Brammer for effort and attainment.
This week’s Animal Care Students of the Week selected by Mr Gilson are:
Year 10
Millie Hodges and Isabelle Smith for making a positive start to the Animal Care course.
Year 11
Joe Porritt and Josh Buckley for working well inside and outside the classroom.
Well done!
PE
Netball
The Year 10 netball team started their league competition with a double victory against Deferrers. Playing against their Year ‘s first TAHS were full of confidence and raced to a 2-0 advantage, the score was soon back level but now TAHS were settled into a rhythm controlling the mid court play with a range of short and long passes. The ball was frequently finding Anna and Freya who rarely missed their chances. Frankie, Eve, Alice, Holly & Caitlin kept the tempo high but also showed composure on the ball to keep possession high.
TAHS ended the game victorious winning 16-11.
The girls were straight back on court to play against Deferrers Year 10’s in a dominating 15-0 win. Holly, Jess & Amelia all took turns in shooting positions, Anna played half a game at centre running tirelessly between the two D’s. The most pleasing aspect of the game was the Second half performance where Eve, Amelia, Freya and Frankie defended fantastically to prevent Deferrers from entering their own D.
Team -Boothby, Bednall, Chatfield, Banner, Jones, Hadgett, Adams, Tooth, Hadgett
This coming week:
Tues- girls football vs Westwood (h)
Wednesday – Netball club
Thursday- Girls Rugby festival @ Burton Rugby Club
Year 9 District Cup
On Tuesday the year 9 football team travelled to Paulet. The team started well with moments of very good football being played by both teams. Unfortunately after 20 minutes there was some careless play from the lads and Alleynes were 3 – 0 down within 4 minutes. Despite this the lads never dropped their heads and finished the half strongly. The second half saw Alleynes dominate possession and playing down hill Paulet struggled to get out of their half. Constant pressure failed to result in Alleynes being able to score. As the half ticked away it was clear that a three goal deficit would be difficult to pull back. With 10 minutes to play Alleynes did pull a goal back, only to allow Paulet to score. Again Alleynes rallied but could not find the net. The clock was against them until finally losing 4-1. We still have the league and county cup games to play.
Free Level 2 Qualification in Sports Leadership
The Level 2 Qualification in Sports Leadership is a nationally recognised qualification that enables successful learners to lead groups of people in sport/activity, under indirect supervision.
The qualification teaches generic leadership skills such as organisation, planning, communication and teamwork through the medium of sport within the community. It is a fun and practical qualification with no entrance requirements or final examinations to sit.
Dates: Monday 29th October to Friday 2nd November 2018
Please see the following regarding allergens and special dietary requirements & for information on how you can log these with our catering supplier, Chartwells.
Our Sixth Form showed their generosity and community spirit by raising almost £150 for the Uttoxeter Lions Indonesian earthquake appeal. Many thanks to Maisy Bettany, Mackenzie Smith and Grace Pennell for their support. We have also received a letter of thanks from the Uttoxeter Lions which said the following:
Dear Mrs Dodd,
I wish to say a huge thank you, for both your and Mrs Bell’s superb support on the launch of the Uttoxeter Lions Young Leaders in Service Scheme (YLIS) in your school. The response to date has been extremely positive. I would also like to thank the schools Head Girl Maisy and Head Boy Mackenzie, for rising to the challenge following my visit on Friday 5th October and their subsequent visit to our monthly Lions Club meeting on Thursday 11th October. The club and all Lions members were delighted that the two students took times out of a busy evening to come along and give an update on the Indonesian appeal collection being held in the school. Kind regards Mr Dow
Maths Puzzle October 2018
You have until the end of this coming week to get your answers in…..
How Old is John?
Mum’s age in two years’ time divided by John’s age now , then added to John’s age comes to two-thirds of what Mum was when John was born. And today it is Mum’s and John’s birthday.
How old is John?
Answers with solutions to Mr.Askey (Maths department – room 47) by half term.
Your Staffordshire Card
The Your Staffordshire Card scheme is ending on 31 August 2019
Staffordshire County Council like many councils are facing unprecedented financial challenges not of our making due to the increasing costs of funding adult social care and children’s care – at a time when national funding to councils continues to fall.
The decision has been made to phase out financial support for the Your Staffordshire Card (YSC) youth scheme. In the past you have helped to promote the scheme and we would like you to display the attached poster and let your students know of the closure if possible.
This means that from 31 August 2019 the pass will no longer be accepted for discounted travel on buses. We will honour passes to that date.
Individual responses will not be provided but all comments will be noted.
Revision Tips
Further to revision evening please find a second link to an effective revision strategy. Last week we shared a tutorial on how to use post-it notes to support revision. This one is designed to help complete effective mind-maps.
Congratulations to Lizzie in year 10 who won first prize in her age group in a ‘Spirited Arts’ competition. This is an art competition run to support religious, ethical and philosophical themes. Lizzie’s work was one of 20,000 in this category and was submitted for the ‘Where is God?’ category.
Please see her work below and the explanation of her piece. This is an excellent achievement, well done.
Does God exist?
The artwork suggests different things depending how you look at it. I created it in the image of my views on ‘Does God Exist’. I drew a pair of hands controlling almost everything that I could think of, giving the artwork a jumbled, almost overwhelmed sense. I did this to represent the world and all the things us as humans’ control, and that it is only us that can make an influence on our lives. One section is filled with influential quotes to show that it is no other force than the power of the human mind that controls success, and maybe inferring that it is out minds that come up with a God to reassure ourselves.
However if you look at it from another perspective it could be said that the hands are actually the hands of God, or a supernatural being that is controlling everything, including the human mind.
Links
Follow the links to; School Website, Facebook, Twitter & our Online Shop
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If there are any changes you would like to see please let us know.
This week, was the week of our Year 9 service at St Mary’s church. It was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on our first month together at Thomas Alleyne’s and to consider the opportunities ahead of our new Year 9 students, the vast majority of whom, have made a fantastic start to their school lives with us.
I briefly visited the sixth form assembly on Friday to thank them for their support at the Church and at Year 9 and Year 11 open evenings. We have always appreciated having a sixth form attached to the school, and having them by our side or leading speeches in departments, was a real privilege on both evenings.
Finally, I would like to thank our staff. We appreciated that many parents commented on the passion of the teachers when delivering their subject talks.
If any Year 11 needs further support please talk to your form tutor. Whilst you may have selected 5 subjects on Thursday evening, there is plenty of time to reflect and find out more about other subjects.
‘Oh what a night’. Our Year 12 information evening was wonderful. Thank so much to all the Year 12 and 13 students who helped last night. We had so many helpers that we were able to provide a fabulous service to all the external applicants that came for their first look around Thomas Alleyne’s. Many parents provided feedback and stated how mature, helpful and knowledgeable they all were. Mackenzie Smith, Maisy Bettany, Elliot Jones and Amanda Clough spoke confidently to all parents and students about their experience at TAHS. These talks posed many questions for our new cohort; should they take a blended route – BTEC and A Level, would they choose BTEC’s, either Triple or a Double Award and a Single Award or should they take three or four A Levels as the EPQ sounded so interesting. The extra-curricular activities that Mrs Dodd, Mackenzie and Amanda spoke of were inspiring; Gold Duke of Edinburgh and World Challenge. We were able to provide an insight into all subjects that will be available at TAHS from September 2019. If you would any further information on this or would like to see a copy of the prospectus then please contact Mrs Walton at Sixthform@tahs.org.uk.
A huge thank you to Maisie Bettany and Mackenzie Smith for raising around £80 for the Uttoxeter Lions Indonesia appeal by selling bangles kindly provided by Mrs Fisher.
If any students wish to take part in the Lions Young Leaders In Service community service award, please see Mrs Bell for a log book. Certificates are available for 25, 50 and 100 hours voluntary service over a year’s duration.
Maths
All Year 9, 10 and 11 students will have a maths assessment during the last week of this half term.
This will take place during their normal maths lessons. Students will need the following equipment for their maths assessment: black pen, pencil, ruler, protractor, compass, Year 10 and 11 will also need a scientific calculator. All equipment can be purchased from the online shop (see link at bottom of the newsletter) or from the maths department.
A list of topics to revise will be put on Insight.
Year 9 Photographs
Any parent or carer that have purchased a Year 9 Photograph should be receiving their order over the next couple of weeks. An order came into school today and they have been distributed into form trays ready for Monday. If you do not receive your order by Wednesday 24th October, please contact Mr Hawthorne (Head of Torrance House).
Year 9 Welcome Service
On Thursday 11th October, it was a pleasure to welcome Year 9s to Thomas Alleyne’s High School in our traditional welcome service at St. Mary’s Church. It consisted of a talk from Mrs Rudge, a welcome from our Head Boy and Girl, a well participated hymn and a reading by Mr Hawthorne. The following students shared their thoughts:
“The welcome service at St. Mary’s church was a special day to welcome us to Thomas Alleyne’s! We all sung a hymn and were told about all the opportunities by the Head Boy and Girl and other teachers. To finish, we sung a hymn one more time and said the Lord’s prayer. Overall, I found this event very enjoyable!” – Tilly 9W1
“Year 9 walked down to our local church to celebrate the start of our first year at Thomas Alleyne’s High School. Mrs Rudge started the service with a speech to work hard and not give up before our Head Boy and Girl encouraged us to take advantage of the opportunities the school has to offer. We finished off by singing ‘He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands’ when Mr Hawthorne claimed we were the best Year 9 singers yet!” – Isabelle 9W1
“I felt it was welcoming and I really enjoyed it, particularly the part where we all sang together at the end” – Ava 9T1
Login details have been sent to the registered email address we hold on our system, please check you mail, including junk for an email from insight@tahs.org.uk.
If you have not received this please email insight@tahs.org.uk stating:
The email address you wish to use
Your name
Your child’s name and tutor group
The first line of your address
PTA Meeting
Monday 19th November, 7pm in the staffroom.
All welcome.
Science
This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mrs Pavey are:
Year 9
Ben Ogden and Isla McFadzean
Year 10
Isabel Watts and Matthew Jackson
Year 11
Max Edwards and Aaron Gwynne
All of the students were selected for their recent Physics assessment grades.
Well done!
PE
Girls Fixtures & Practices
Tuesday – U14 & !6 Netball Vs Robert Sutton (A), also netball club for students not involved in fixtures
Wednesday – Girls football club on astro.
Thursday – U6 netball Vs Deferrers (A)
U16 Moorlands Football League & Cup double header.
On Thursday we made the short trip to Rocester FC to take on JCB. With the pitch in great condition we were able to play some of our best free flowing football. Harvey Belcher in goal played like a quarter back pinging the ball around to start our attacks. Lewis Dawson enjoyed the wide pitch and created numerous chances but was unable to score himself. Charlie Martin seemed determined to dribble the ball in but when he did shoot scored 2 excellent goals. Man of the match was 2nd half substitute Max Hunt who was on fire with his mazy dribbling frightening the JCB defenders and deservedly scored the third to cap a 3-0 win.
U16 Rugby
East staffs district tournament – team photo below.
Year 9 Football County Cup
On Tuesday night the year 9 team aheaded off to Biddulph High School. A very good first half saw Alleynes dominate with George Arnold settling the visitors nerves with an excellent strike from outside of the box. Unfortunately Alleynes were unable to capitalise and went in at half time 1-0 up. The second half started similar to the first half with Alleynes dominating Leighton Thomas scored from a very good break down the right wing. Biddulph fought back very well and scored 2 quick goals. The last 10 minutes was a tense affair with neither team being able to break the deadlock. It took a solo effort from captain Charlie Ratcliffe to decide the match. Well done. Next game is on Tuesday against Paulette in the Burton and District cup. Players need to get their own way there.
National Inter County Swimming Gala
Congratulations to Ben Year 9, who has represented Staffordshire last weekend at the National Inter County Swimming Championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield. He was one of a quartet of swimmers in his age category. He swam the individual 100m freestyle, narrowly missing a personal best time and swam the anchor leg in the medley relay to help his team finish third in their heat.
Maths Puzzle October 2018
How Old is John?
Mum’s age in two years’ time divided by John’s age now , then added to John’s age comes to two-thirds of what Mum was when John was born. And today it is Mum’s and John’s birthday.
How old is John?
Answers with solutions to Mr.Askey (Maths department – room 47) by half term.
English News
Year 9 will be involved in an oracy project with an outside provider called Talk the Talk. All of the pupils will be involved, with each of the English groups taking part in the project for a whole day instead of following their usual timetable. The training will be delivered by the visiting experts, with Thomas Alleynes teachers assisting them in doing this. When the project has taken place in the past, pupils have reported that it has been really enjoyable, and beneficial to both their oracy skills, and their overall self-confidence. I am sure that this year will be no different. Pupils will be informed which day their group is taking part, and the room that is their venue, by their form tutor.
English Pupil of the Week: Izzie Mcleavy, in 10U4. Since beginning Year 10 Izzie has shown a mature, hard-working and positive approach in all of her lessons, and should be very proud of herself.
Tesco Bags of Help
Thomas Alleyne’s High School calls out for votes to bag a share of Tesco’s bag fund to Save the School Pool
Thomas Alleyne’s High School is bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.
Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which sees grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 raised from carrier bag sales in Tesco stores awarded to local community projects.
Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.
Thomas Alleyne’s High School Save our Pool is one of the groups on the shortlist.
We have been raising funds to bring our swimming pool back into use and we really need your support to make this happen.
Tesco’s Bags of Help project has already delivered over £60 million to more than 18,000 projects across Britain. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.
Alec Brown, Head of Community at Tesco, said:
“Bags of Help has been a fantastic success and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response from customers. It’s such a special scheme because it’s local people who decide how the money will be spent in their community. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see these come to life in hundreds of communities.”
Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said:
“Bags of Help continues to enable local communities up and down Britain to improve the local spaces and places that matter to them. The diversity of projects that are being funded shows that local communities have a passion to create something great in their area. We are pleased to be able to be a part of the journey and provide support and encouragement to help local communities thrive.”
Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to communities. Anyone can nominate a project and organisations can apply online. To find out more visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp.
Revision Tips
With Year 11 and 13 Mock exams in a matter of weeks, we want to support students as much as possible with preparing for exams.
Further to revision workshops held recently in school – please see the link below showing how to make great use of post-it notes in revision. Further clips will be shared weekly to support students.
Thomas Alleyne's high school 