Weekly Update: 11th February 2022

Published February 11, 2022

Watching the news and hearing Boris Johnson holding court in Westminster, you’d think Covid was ending imminently. Back in the real world, I think we all appreciate that it’s going to be lingering for a while longer.

We currently have 11 staff off absent at the moment (not all covid related, I hasten to add) which has led to us having to take the difficult decision to revert to remote learning for Year 8 today and for Year 9 on Monday. It is proving unsustainable trying to balance covering lessons with a staff shortage. We are not alone in making this decision as many schools have had to take similar measures recently.

We are hoping this is a short-term solution and that this will be a rare occurrence.  We apologise for any inconvenience and disruption that this may have caused and thank you for your understanding and support. 

Pupils will be accessing tasks through Satchel One (SMHW) rather than live lessons through Teams as has been the case in the past.

Year 11 & Advance Information RE: GCSE Exams 

Last summer, JCQ launched a consultation to decide what, if any, modifications there would be in place for pupils in 2022. It was agreed that GCSE’s would go ahead in their standard format, but certain advance information would be provided to help pupils and teachers focus their revision and released on 7th Feb. The guidance is there to help narrow areas of revision only.

The following links provide the advance information and currently staff are disseminating this information to their classes so that they can tailor their revision accordingly.

The Big Sleep

Big Sleep fever is sweeping the school! Any pupils over 14 years old can participate (some Year 9 pupils and all of Year 10 & 11) and the appetite for the pupils to get involved has certainly surpassed any previous years.  We have 7 teachers who have committed to the event and over 50 pupils have expressed an interest – it’s shaping up to be a bumper fundraising effort!

This week, consent forms and letter have been distributed to those interested – please bring these back to me by Friday 18th February!

Homerun

We use the HomeRun App to connect our school community online, provide more travel options for parents and become a greener school. We kindly ask all parents to join our private network as soon as possible using this link.

Trips & Clubs

The appetite for trips has also been phenomenal! Earlier this week the Belgium Battlefields Trip letter landed and is already close to being full!  The Year 9 & 8HA art trip to Weymouth Aquarium has also be well received and we’ve also got a GCSE drama trip to the theatre coming up soon too.

It’s so refreshing being able to provide all of these extra-curricular opportunities again and we’re continually exploring new opportunities to help enrich the pupils experience of school. The letter for trip to Barcelona in May 2023 will be landing next week too!

The attendance at the after-school clubs is fabulous to see as well – the enrichment activities are the memory making moments at school and they give the pupils a chance to follow their passions. It’s great seeing the pupils’ smiling faces (and the teachers too!)

PHSE Update

Here’s a run down of PHSE lessons from this week:

  • Year 7: Furthering the ‘Healthy Lifestyles’ module, first of two lessons on Healthy Sleeping and why it’s important
  • Year 8: Final lesson of alcohol education – the effects of drinking too much
  • Year 9: Half the year group had Karla from Motiv8 doing a session on drugs and alcohol education, the other half were continuing with the Salisbury City challenge run by the Chamber of Commerce
  • Year 10: Continued with their World of Work programme in preparation for Mock Interview Day
  • Year 11: CEIAG focus on Intentions for next year and National Apprenticeship Week

You can see more information about our teaching of PSHE here.

Happiest Minute of the Week

For the latest Happiest Minutes of the Week, scroll down the ticker on the homepage. You can also see all previous Happiest Minutes of the Week on our blog.

Cricket Opportunity

Please see below a fantastic opportunity for any budding cricketers at school – a masterclass with ex-England International cricketer, Rikki Clarke. Rumour has it that Rikki may be visiting school in the summer to run a cricket session too!

To book the March masterclass at Shrewton, email shrewtoncc@outlook.com.

Achievement Points Race:

  • 1st Place: Margaret House: 31,195 points
  • 2nd Place: Vincent House: 29,435 points
  • 3rd Place: Teresa House: 28,058 points
  • 4th Place: Francis House: 25,371 points

Have a lovely weekend!

Mr Rooney

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