29th September 2023

Weekly Letter 29.09.23

WC: 25/09/2023

Dear Parent/Carer,

I write with a heavy heart this week to inform you that I will be moving on from NUSA this academic year to take up a new Headship in Derbyshire. I have absolutely loved my time at NUSA and it has been a complete joy to work with your children. I will write with more details later in the term. The advert for my role has gone out today and I know that the trust will work quickly to ensure that they appoint the very best person to lead NUSA on to the next stage in its journey. I am incredibly grateful to you as parents and carers for the support you have given me throughout my time here. Until the day I leave, I will ensure your children are given the best opportunities possible as they deserve that.

This week at NUSA:

This week, Year 8 were treated to a visit from the Space Academy in Science. They got the opportunity to make rockets, designed their own life forms, held a meteor and held an actual piece of the moon!

We hosted our Year 6 Open Evening on Wednesday night and it was a brilliant event. All of our departments hosted a variety of activities and our student leaders and ambassadors were incredible tour guides. We are really grateful to them for giving up their time to help. We will be holding some open mornings in coming weeks for any parents/carers who would like to see the school during the school day.

Y11 Mocks 9th – 20th October

All students will be sitting 3 science exams and an English language paper.

Some students will be sitting additional papers based on their performance in summer. 

Students have been emailed with the timetables and the exams they will be sitting.

How you can help your children:

Help them develop a study routine, we suggest at least an hour a night on week days in KS4. 

Make sure they are sleeping and eating well, learning is much harder if they don't.

They can use websites such as 

https://sparxmaths.com/

https://www.gcsepod.com/

https://senecalearning.com/en-GB/ 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/levels/z98jmp3

The timetable is as follows:

Offer of training for Parents/Carers:

Be a life saver - Attend our free awareness session on CPR and the use of a Defibrillator (AED) in October 2023.

 

We are delighted to be hosting 2 sessions in October in partnership with East Midlands Ambulance Service on CPR (CardioPulmonary Resuscitation) and use of an AED (Automated External Defibrillator). Part of the East Midlands Ambulance Service’s Cardiac Arrest Strategy is to raise the awareness of the public, of what to do if they were in the unfortunate position of dealing with a cardiac arrest. The sessions will take place in school on Monday 16th October at 4pm or Tuesday 17th October at 5pm. If you would like to reserve your free space, please click here to complete the form. Spaces to the session will be allocated on a first come first served basis. You will receive a confirmation email if you have been allocated a space. Where you are allocated a space, please ensure you attend, as it is really important that as many people as possible have awareness of this topic as it really can save a life, so please only reserve a space if you are sure you can join us. We look forward to seeing you, be sure to click above to reserve your spot.

Medical passes:

Every term we review the issuing of medical exemption passes for students who require more frequent visits to the toilet. If your child needs to be issued with a medical pass, please contact your child’s Head of Year to arrange this to be issued.

Revision guides:

If your child is currently studying for GCSE exams (year 10 or 11) and would like to purchase revision guides at a reduced cost, they can do so by completing the order form and taking it, along with the correct amount of money to Vera in A119. Order forms can be collected from tutors, Mrs Huskisson-Moore or Vera. Revision guides are available for a range of subjects including maths, English, Science, drama, Spanish, sport, history, geography, psychology and catering and are an invaluable tool to support students maximising their progress.  

SEND Drop ins:

We offer a number of ‘SEND drop ins’ throughout the year for parents/carers. These are open to any parent/carer who may want to discuss their child’s SEND needs further or parents/carers who have concerns that their children may have SEND needs that are yet to be diagnosed. If you wish to book an appointment in one of the slots below, please contact reception.

Wednesday SEND Drop in dates:

11/10/2023

25/10/2023

Coming up at NUSA:

Date

Event

06/10/2023

INSET Day

16/10/2023

Community CPR & Defib Training - Ticket Only (information above)

17/10/2023

Community CPR & Defib Training - Ticket Only (information above)

19/10/2023

Nusa Sixth Form Open Evening

Safeguarding corner:

This weeks safeguarding corner provides you with information about the platform ‘Discord’:

Discord Family Centre

Discord used to be popular with gamers, now it's hugely popular amongst non-gamers too. Historically Discord has been very lax regarding features that are available for parents to help keep their children safe, but this has recently changed, albeit the changes are a miniscule step in the right direction at least it's something.

Essentially, like many other apps, Discord now has a Family Centre. Once set up parents can see:

What servers (chat rooms) their children have joined or participated in.

Everyone they've messaged.

New users they've connected with.

You can read more about these functions and limitations by visiting this website https://www.parents.com/discords-family-center-helps-parents-keep-kids-safe-7562225 which will show parents how to set up Family Centre.

Have a wonderful weekend

Emma Howard

Headteacher