Year 8 And 9 Progress Reports - Reminder
Progress Reports for Years 8 and 9 will be published today, Friday 18 November 2022, and will be available to view on My School Portal.
Michael Spencer
Deputy Head - Academic
The Flagpole
18 November 2022
Progress Reports for Years 8 and 9 will be published today, Friday 18 November 2022, and will be available to view on My School Portal.
Thursday 24 November 2022
The Year 8 Subject Progress Evening will take place on Thursday 24 November 2022 from 5.00pm to 8.30pm. The evening will be conducted online using SchoolCloud.
It is hoped that all parents will be successful in gaining an appointment, however if this is not possible teachers may contact you via email to update you about your child’s progress.
Progress Reports for Lower Sixth will be published on Friday 25 November 2022, and will be available to view on My School Portal.
Wednesday 30 November
The Lower Sixth Subject Progress Evening will take place on Wednesday 30 November 2022 from 6.00pm to 8.30pm. The evening will be conducted online using SchoolCloud. We will send out detailed information in advance of the event on how to book your appointments.
It is hoped that all parents will be successful in gaining an appointment, however if this is not possible teachers may contact you via email to update you about your child’s progress.
Progress Reports for Year 10 will be published Friday 2 December 2022, and will be available to view on My School Portal.
Tuesday 6 December 2022
We warmly invite all parents of Year 9 pupils to join us at Princethorpe for our GCSE Options Evening on Tuesday 6 December. This event will be held in person in the main college building and will run from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.
There will be a presentation to explain the options process, in the Clarkson theatre; this will run at 6.30pm and again at 7.30pm and will last approximately 25 minutes, with time for questions. We request that all parents attend one of these presentations.
Optional subjects will be based in nearby classrooms and will deliver short presentations and answer questions throughout the evening. Parents and pupils are advised to visit as many departments as possible in order to explore the available options. Staff representing the compulsory core subjects will also be available to answer any questions you may have and will be based in the Sixth Form Centre, where refreshments will be available.
I hope you were able to attend the Year 11 360 Review Evening recently and that you found it informative and helpful.
Presentations from the evening are available below:
Making good choices for A-level and BTEC
We would also welcome your feedback on the evening to inform our planning for future events, using the following link here.
Now we are in to the second half term, it is important to recognise the stresses and demands on our Lower Sixth students. You should have noticed the level of study has increased somewhat but be aware that this level of load can cause difficulties and anxieties. Here are some tips to support your youngster.
Encourage your youngster to ask for help when they need it – seeking out a teacher before stress starts to build up is essential. This could be as simple as finding the teacher before class, chatting to their tutor or sharing worries with friends.
Stay organised – consider how your youngster is scheduling their time and ensure that they are setting aside time for each subject throughout the week. Encourage them to start assignments early, set deadlines and make the most of study periods in the school day.
Mix up your study routine – talk to your youngster about staying focused and positive during their study time. It is important that they use a variety of study techniques from using flashcards or mind maps, writing summaries and watching online tutorials to getting a friend or family member to quiz them, completing practice tests under exam conditions and working through questions from the text book.
Take time to research your post-school options – get your youngster thinking about their future aspirations. Taking time to research and make plans for post-school life can provide a nice break from studies, while also helping them to stay motivated by reminding them of the bigger picture. This may include researching institutions and courses of interest, organising things for a gap year and putting together course applications.
Stay calm and keep things in perspective – Sixth Form studies are rewarding but also demanding. Your youngster’s mental health is a vital component to success. Take time to encourage them to be involved in other activities and have a balanced life style.
For more suggestions, please click on this link.
Dr Liz Pyne
Assistant Head - Teaching and Learning
As part of the Year 8 Technology rotation pupils will spend 8 sessions, approximately 20 hours with homework, being introduced to, and working toward their John Muir Discovery Award.
John Muir is a world-renowned environmental campaigner, widely considered to be the father of the National Parks movement which started in America with the designation of the Yellowstone as the first National Park and spread worldwide. The Trust operated in his name offers the Discovery Award to young people, the aim of which is to raise their awareness of nature and wild places.
The Award is spilt into four challenges.
To complete the award pupils must.
The link here explains a little more about the Award and its aims.
In school we aim to facilitate all four challenges. Over three sessions we introduce the Award and Discover and Explore the Princethorpe site and a local nature reserve, observing and researching the fauna and flora to understand the landscape and how it is managed. There follow three more Conserve sessions when we work with and are supervised by the Princethorpe Foundation Grounds Team working on season dependent conservation and countryside management projects. In the final two sessions we complete a poster project to Share experiences and communicate with others what we have found out.
It is essential if we are to make the most of the Discover, Explore and Conserve sessions, when we spend most of the time outside, that pupils wear weather appropriate clothing and footwear that will keep them warm and dry or cool and safe from the sun depending on the season. In autumn and winter waterproofs and wellies, with hats and gloves, are the best option over warm layers. In spring and summer lighter clothes that still cover the skin and a hat if warm. Legs and arms are best covered to prevent scratches and scrapes from the undergrowth. Princethorpe sports kit can be used but does not have to be. Pupils will be expected to be in uniform prior to and after sessions and we have access to the changing rooms to facilitate this. As we will be using a variety of hand tools PPE and full training will be provided.
The time allocation of lessons with homework equates to approximately 20 hours, five hours short of the required time stipulated by the John Muir Trust. Therefore, to facilitate Year 8 pupils completing the John Muir Discovery Award we ask that families consider how they may voluntarily spend five hours fulfilling the aims of the Award in their own local area. This may include.
The list is not exhaustive, and completion is not compulsory, but we hope that you may find it something fun to do to achieve this nationally recognised Award. All that we require to show how you have spent your five family hours is some form of documented evidence that can be shared with us at school digitally. All Year 8 students have been added to a Team, John Muir Award 2022-23 where your collected evidence can be uploaded. The deadline for completion is Friday 30 June 2023.
I hope many of you will join us so that we can raise awareness of the importance of wild places to us all, something John Muir was aware of nearly 150 years ago.
'Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn'.
John Muir
Simon Robertson - Teacher of Outdoor Education
Will Bower - Outdoor Education Coordinator
