Whole School Newsletter - 01-03-2024

Friday 1^st March 2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

Happy St David’s Day to all our families.

Integrity and independence

We are celebrating this important occasion by holding a culture and diversity day today with all staff and students encouraged to come to school wearing something that represents their culture. Our focus for this week has been on connection and being included. In assemblies this week we have been exploring ‘Cynefin’ which is now part of the new curriculum and means ‘the place where we feel we belong, where people and landscape around us are familiar, and the sights and sounds are reassuringly recognisable.’ There is no direct translation into English for the word Cynefin, which is often used to describe the relationship we have with the natural world and how our connection to our surroundings can shape our sense of identify and well-being. We have also looked at the work of the great Betty Campbell who was the first black Headtecaher in Wales, was instrumental in setting up Black History Month and was a driving force in developing multi-cultural education. There is a statue in Cardiff to honour her work which is thought to be the first in Wales to honour a named, non-fictional woman.  

Year 7 students were involved in the Newport High School Eisteddfod which took place this morning. It was wonderful to see the talent we have at school and was a lovely opportunity for our students to come together to celebrate St David’s Day.

KS4

With just eight school weeks before the GCSE examinations start, it is crucial that all our Year 11 students are revising independently and preparing for their exams.

If any students need additional support with any of their subjects, please encourage them to speak to their class teacher who is best placed to support and guide them.

Skills Challenge

We will be running some booster sessions before Easter for the Skills Challenge Certificate to ensure that every student is able to achieve their very best in this important qualification. Further details will be shared regarding the details of these sessions. The Skills Challenge Certificate is an important qualification which is made up of three formal assessments with no exam - Global Citizenship, Enterprise and Employability and the Individual Project. Students need to pass each element in order to achieve the overall qualification. The Skills Challenge Certificate is worth one GCSE so this qualification can make an important difference to some of our students accessing Sixth Form or college places.

Student success

You will remember that some weeks ago I shared with you the exciting news that one of our Year 10 students was going to represent Great Britain in the European Fencing Championships in Italy.

These took place last week and Luca did extremely well finishing 18^th overall and being described as ‘a rising star’.

He was the only GB fencer to achieve a perfect score and also finished in 6^th place in the Men’s Cadet Foil Team event.

I can only imagine how nerve-racking it must be for someone so young to be competing at such a high level under such competitive and pressured conditions.

We are extremely proud of Luca for his significant achievements and wish him the very best with his training in Poland over the summer.  

Lost property

Every year we amass a significant volume of lost property. All students are encouraged to check with the hub, at break or lunch, if they have lost any uniform.

We will be running three pick-up sessions for parents and carers to come into school to check if anything their child has lost is in our lost property. The dates of these sessions have been sent out to all parents.

Any lost property that has not been collected by the end of this term, Friday 22^nd March, will be donated to charity or disposed of. Unfortunately, we do not have the space to store the volume of lost property we accumulate over the course of the year.

If any students have lost specific items, they need to come to the wellbeing hub at Break, Lunch or at the end of the school day.

Literacy

Thursday 7^th March is World Book Day and we will be running reading activities for students in Year 7. According to their research, reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income. We are continuing to prioritise reading across the school as it is such an important skill in developing literacy.

Reading is known to:

1. Increase vocabulary because when you read you are exposed to new words and phrases and the more words you know the easier it is to express yourself clearly in writing.
2. Helps to articulate thoughts better because when you read you are training your brain to think critically and analytically. This helps improve writing because you learn how to construct arguments and support your points with evidence.
3. Improves comprehension because when you read, you’re practicing understanding complex information and putting it into your own words.
4. Improves plotting skills because when you read you are following the story which helps you to understand how different elements can be put together to create a story.
5. Improves grammar because you encounter new sentences and phrases and develop an awareness of different grammatical styles.
6. Develop empathy because as you read you are exposed to new perspectives and experiences which in turn helps you to improve your own understanding and tolerance of other people’s points of view. This can help you to develop characters in your own writing and build relationships between those characters.
7. Improves your own knowledge and understanding of the word which helps you to communicate your ideas more effectively.

Free School Meals

At Newport High School we want to ensure that every child receives the financial help they need to attend school. The Welsh Government offers support with Free School Meals and School Essentials such as uniform, kit and stationery. Please check your child’s eligibility for Free School Meals. Even if you receive Universal Primary Free Schools Meals, more help could be available! If eligible, you can get up to £200 per child for School Essentials, plus extra funding for our school. Check eligibility:www.gov.wales/get-help-school-costs

School dates

We break up for the Easter holidays on Friday 22^nd March 2024. Our next INSET day is Friday 8^th March when the school will be closed to students. Please note, on Friday 8^th March, when we have INSET,  the three collaboration schools are open and  transport will run as normal for students in Years 12 & 13. 

The remaining INSET days for the rest of this academic year are as follows;

1. Friday 8^th March 2024
2. Friday 28^th June 2024
3. Monday 1^st July 2024

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our families for your continued support.

With kind regards

Mrs Lee