Friday 3^rd 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 3^rd 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 22^nd 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 10^th May.

During the study leave period, there will be No Advanced Skills Challenge lessons for all students.

AS exams begin on Monday 13^th 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;

• Monday 3rd June and Tuesday 4^th June 9.00am – 1.00pm UCAS application, personal statement and apprenticeship days - compulsory for all students.
• Wednesday 5^th, Thursday 6^th and Friday 7^th June – 9.00am – 1.00pm Advanced Skills Challenge coursework days. This is to make up for the time lost from these lessons during study leave and is compulsory for all students.
• Monday 10^th June all normal lessons, including collaboration resume for A2 teaching.
• During the last week of summer term Monday 15^th – Friday 19^th July students will have work set by their Advanced Skills teachers which can be completed independently at home. There will be no lessons during this week at Newport High or across the collaboration. It is also recommended that students use this week to complete any work experience/volunteering that they will need for university or apprenticeship applications in September.

 

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.

• Year 13 leavers’ assembly Thursday 16^th May at 2.30pm in the main hall followed by a celebratory meal in the main canteen so staff can say farewell and good luck to students. The cost of this is £5 per student and please can all payments be made either in cash to Mr Probert or via ParentPay.
• A2 exams start Monday 20^th May

 

Please note that some students may be re-sitting AS exams from year 12 which start on Monday

13^th 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 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.

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:

• Parental drop in (takes place in school) – Friday 10^th May at 10am
• On-line Parental Forum (takes place on Teams) – Thursday 9^th May at 5pm

 

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 3^rd 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;

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