Whole School Newsletter - 12-04-2024

Friday 12^th April 2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

The themes of this week have been equality and resilience. Equality is one of our three core values. Ensuring we have equality of opportunity is vital in school as this ensures that every student can achieve their potential. At Newport High School our mission is to develop ambitious and confident young people who can express themselves with clarity and have the skills and knowledge to realise their dreams.

To ensure that every student can achieve, we need to ensure that the culture in school is right. To support this, we have this week launched our new Behaviour for Learning policy. All students had extended Form Time on Monday, including assemblies, to take them through the new policy and I am very pleased at how positively it has been received. It is based on a very simple three staged approach to manage behaviour. Stage 1 is a warning by the classroom teacher, Stage 2 is a reflective conversation with a different member of staff and Stage 3 is removal of the student from the lesson to our Return to Learn room. The whole policy is built on our RISE pillars of Respectful, Independent, Safe and Equipped. We have focused on the Respectful, Independent and Safe values and we will further develop Equipped over the remainder of this term.  Students who are involved in any unsafe behaviours will go straight to the Return to Learn room. This new policy is the culmination of a carefully planned, collaborative consultation, and we are extremely grateful to the students and staff who were part of the working parties that have shaped this new approach.

In addition to the new Behaviour for Learning policy, we have changed our school uniform guidance. I am delighted with how smart the majority of our students have looked since coming back after the Easter break. The new policy includes the introduction of plain black tailored shorts, a plain black sweatshirt and allows for a single nose stud to be worn. Please note we will not be allowing students to wear sports shorts (including tight fitting lycra shorts), hoodies or branded sweatshirts. Nose piercings, which are now allowed in the policy, must be a plain stud. Rings, hoops or any other style of jewellery will not be allowed for health and safety reasons.

The Governing Body also agreed two more important changes. The first of these was to introduce a ban on mobile phone use in school. This is in line with a number of other schools in Newport. We are looking to introduce this ban after May half term, from Monday 3^rd June.  There is compelling evidence that mobile phones create a significant distraction to learning.

The final change is an agreement that we are returning to a split break and lunch. This means that we will run two break and lunch sittings – one for Years 7 & 8 and another for Years 9-11. We will be making this change from Monday 22^nd April. From this date, break and lunches will be as follows;

As you will see from these times, students in Years 7, 8, 12 & 13 have no change to the timing of their break and lunch, whereas students in Years 9, 10 & 11 have an earlier break and lunch. This change will also help us with public examinations as the afternoon exams tend to start at 1pm.

KS4

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

All our Year 11 students took part in a revision techniques session called Exam Busters this week. This explored a number of revision technicques which included mind mapping command words, using the RICE (Read, Identify, Concentrate and Explain) and planning time for exams.

Study leave – Year 11

The majority of Year 11 examinations begin on Thursday 9^th May, however some students may have exams earlier than that. Please ensure your child has a copy of their examination timetable which details the dates and times of their actual exams.

Students in Year 11 are expected to attend every lesson up to and including Wednesday 8^th May. From Thursday 9^th May, students are expected to attend every lesson until they have completed their final examination in that subject. Once students have compieted their final exam in a specific subject they can chose to revise from home as part of study leave.

We know that having revision lessons in school can make a real difference to your child’s final grades so it is important that they continue to attend these lessons prior to their exams. The same applies for vocational qualifications, where coursework still needs to be completed.

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.

KS5

Further details about exams in the Sixth form will be shared shortly.

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

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

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

May half term is Monday 27^th May until Friday 31^st May and we finish this school year on Friday 19^th July 2024.

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

With kind regards

Mrs Lee