Friday 3rd May 2024
Dear Parents and Carers,
The themes of this week have been equality and being safe. As part of our RISE approach, by being safe we mean being responsible, sensible and considerate. Safety is now one of the pillars behind our new Behaviour for Learning policy which is having a very positive impact across the school.
Split break and lunch
Split break and lunch has had a significant impact on improving unstructured times with reduced queues for food and a much calmer atmosphere.
Years 9, 10 & 11 |
Years 7, 8, 12 & 13 |
||
8.45am – 9am |
Form time |
8.45am – 9am |
Form time |
9am – 10am |
P1 |
9am – 10am |
P1 |
10am – 10.20am |
Break |
10am – 11am |
P2 |
10.20am – 11.20am |
P2 |
11am – 11.20am |
Break |
11.20am – 12.20pm |
P3 |
11.20am – 12.20pm |
P3 |
12.20pm – 1pm |
Lunch |
12.20pm-1.20pm |
P4 |
1pm-2pm |
P4 |
1.20pm – 2pm |
Lunch |
2pm-3pm |
P5 |
2pm – 3pm |
P5 |
I have been so impressed by how respectful our students have been during break and lunch and how considerate of their fellow students in lessons. Students on break or lunch will be using the ground floor toilets and will need to be either in the canteen or outside on the canteen yard. They will not be allowed upstairs or into the corridors or wings.
Any students that are found out of bounds will trigger a ‘safe’ sanction, so it is important that all students stay within the designated break and lunch zones which are staffed and supervised to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone.
Mobile Phone ban
We now have three weeks left before we ban the use of mobile phones in school. This is in line with a number of other schools in Newport. From Monday 3rd July, students will not be able to use their mobile phones in school from ‘gate to gate’ i.e. from coming into school in the morning until they leave the building at the end of the day. It is really important that all students have a school bag with them so they can ensure, if they wish to bring a phone to school, that it is switched off and in their bag. We will be sharing with students and families how the mobile phone ban sits in the new behaviour for learning policy.
Attendance
As you are aware, improving student attendance to school is a national priority. We have run a number of incentives to encourage students to improve their attendance. We have just launched our Attendance Streak initiative. During this term, we have set every student the challenge of building up a 50-day attendance streak. The first reward for a ‘streak’ of ten consecutive days of attendance was given on Monday 22nd April, with many students meeting this initial target. We will then review a twenty-five-day streak and finally a fifty-day streak. Streaks will be checked during form time and rewards issued accordingly. As you would expect, the rewards will get more substantial as students’ streaks increase!
KS5
Year 12
Study leave for students in Year 12 starts on Friday 10th May.
During the study leave period, there will be No Advanced Skills Challenge lessons for all students.
AS exams begin on Monday 13th May.
Please note, if your child studies a BTEC course, there will be NO study leave. This is due to the content of the course being heavily coursework based. Students will be expected to attend these lessons as normal unless they have an exam that day.
There will be revision sessions during study leave that some staff will run. If these need to be attended in a collaboration school, then please can your child speak to the minibus driver who will take them and collect them at the necessary time.
Please can students wear full school uniform for all revision sessions and exams during the upcoming period.
All students will be expected to return to school on Monday 3rd June and the plan for that week is as follows;
It is important that students return after study leave as during this time staff will start teaching the A2 work in preparation for year 13 so attendance to all lessons is essential.
Year 13
Study leave for students in Year 13 starts Thursday 16th May at 1.20pm
Please note, that during the study leave period, there will be no Welsh Baccalaureate lessons for any student in Year 13 and if your son/daughter is studying a Vocational BTEC course, these lessons will continue as normal until students have completed all of their coursework. The Subject Team Leader will inform individual BTEC students when they can leave that course as they have to ensure all coursework has been completed and the relevant paperwork signed by the student.
Please note that some students may be re-sitting AS exams from year 12 which start on Monday
13th May.
Please be aware that some staff may ask your son/daughter to attend some revision lessons during the study leave period and whilst this is not compulsory, we strongly recommend that the sessions are attended to help students best prepare for the exam. If students need to attend revision sessions in a collaboration school then please ask your child to speak to the minibus driver who will take them and pick them up as required.
It is a priority for us to keep in touch with our students after they leave. This way we can further develop links with the local community, grow our alumni and continue to support our past and present students. Therefore, we will be holding a ‘Coffee and Cake Catch-up afternoon’ in December 2024 for students and guests. This is a ‘drop-in’ event which is a fantastic opportunity for students to catch up with staff and friends, let us know how they are doing and even join our Newport High School Alumni. A-level certificates will also be available for collection during this event. Further information will follow closer to the date.
KS4
With just under one week before the GCSE examinations start, it is crucial that all our Year 11 students are revising independently and preparing for their exams.
Students in Year 11 are expected to attend every lesson up to and including Wednesday 8th May. From Thursday 9th 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.
Parental Forums
Working closely with our families is an essential element of ensuring our students make progress. To support this, we are continuing to run both our on-line Parental Forum and our Parental drop sessions. These are calendared across the year. The next forums are taking place as follows:
These are not parent/student meetings to discuss specific queries but are an opportunity to meet with myself so you can raise broader issues about the school. If you are interested in attending either of these sessions please email info@newporthigh.co.uk stating which one you would like to attend.
Beauty and the Beast
Tickets for our whole school production of Beauty and the Beast go on sale after half term, on Monday 3rd June. Details of how to purchase tickets 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;
May half term is Monday 27th May until Friday 31st May and we finish this school year on Friday 19th July 2024.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our families for your continued support.
With kind regards
Mrs Lee