24th February 2023

Weekly Letter - 20.02.2023

WC: 20/02/23

Dear Parents/Carers,

At NUSA this week:

It was great to welcome students back to school this week after a half term break. We have only been back one week but so much has happened already.

Students received their reports home this week. I hope that you were pleased with the progress your child is making. If you have any concerns regarding your child’s progress please contact your child’s Head of Year who will be able to support.

We held reset assemblies this week to remind all students of how amazing they can be and also a reminder around the importance of our rules within school. We reset every half term as it is really important following a holiday that students have the opportunity to reset themselves to focus on learning once again. We are really proud of the vast majority of our students in the way that they have returned to school with greater focus than ever. We have seen a return of the one-way system to C block corridor on the first floor. This is because our corridors are narrower than the rest of the school in this area and it can be really packed.

‘Prison? Me? No way!’ are an organization who run sessions to provide students with the knowledge around some ‘hot topic’ issues. This week they were in school presenting to Year 9 and Year 10. It was an excellent two days for our students and we look forward to welcoming them back again next year.

Year 11 have been sitting their mocks this week and there are a few things we wanted to share with parents and carers.  

There are very strict rules about phones.  If your child brings a phone to school it must be turned off and in their bag – not in their pocket - during the exam.  If they are found to have a phone on them, they risk being disqualified. In a recent mock exam, a phone sound went off in the gym. If that was a real exam, there would be very serious consequences.  

It is essential that your child arrives on time for their exam. They will risk their grade if they don't arrive on time.  

A very small number of pupils have fallen asleep in the exams once they have completed their paper. It is really important that your child is getting a good night's sleep, at least 8 hours, as well as having breakfast before they leave home.  

Please ensure you have a clear conversation with your child about these issues as we bid to make sure they are successful!

Upcoming webinar for parents – How to Help Your Child Prepare for Exams

We’re excited to announce that Elevate Education will be hosting a free webinar for our parents on Tuesday 28th February.

Elevate Education works with our students, delivering high impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation. By tuning into their webinar series you will learn how you can help better support your children at home through reinforcing the skills they learn at school:   
 

Tuesday 28th February @ 6:00pm (GMT) 

How to Help Your Child Prepare for Exams

Click here to register for free

In this webinar, we will be discussing:

? High Priority Work: The kinds of work students should be focusing on in the build-up to exams to maximise marks

? Time Management: How to ensure your child has enough time to prepare for their exams

? Practise Papers: How to prepare effectively using past questions and practise papers

Click here to register for free

Coming up at NUSA:

Y11 Mocks – Two weeks for weeks commencing Monday 20th and Monday 27th February

World Book Day – Thursday 2nd March

‘Is this good enough?’ Drama performance – Friday 10th March

SEND drop ins – Wednesday 8th March and Wednesday 19th April

Pathways Evening for Year 9 – Wednesday 22nd March

Year 11’s last day is on Thursday 22nd June

Year 11 Prom is on Friday 30th June

Industrial action:

Wednesday 1st March 2023

Please find below the plans for the day. Please note, these plans are for this day only and plans regarding future strike days will be sent out closer to the time.  

 

Students who will be expected in school on Wednesday 1st March 2023 – Year 11/Year 12/Year13 

 

Students who will not be in school on Wednesday 1st March 2023 – Year 7/Year 8/Year 9/Year 10

 

This is not a decision I have taken lightly, but due to the number of staff proposed to be absent on the day, I have to ensure that we have enough staff in school to keep the children safe.  

 

If further strike days do occur, the Year groups will change each time so that the same students are not impacted every time.  

 

If you child is in Year 11/Year 12/Year13 and receives a free school meal or buys school dinners, they will still be able to get food from the canteen on Wednesday 1st February.  

 

If your child is in Year 7/Year 8/Year 9/Year 10 and receives a free school meal, we will be putting provision in place for them to take food home on Tuesday 28th February for the next day.  

 

All students should return to school as normal on Thursday 2nd March 2023.  

Safeguarding corner:

Online safety – parent support session

If you are anything like me as a parent, you will find it hard to keep up with the endless new apps available for our children to use. The NSPCC are offering a free session for all parents/carers to attend via Zoom on Thursday 28th February 2023 at 7pm.

 

Zoom details are below.  

 

Topic: NSPCC online safety webinar

Time: Feb 28, 2023 07:00 PM London

 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82274589287?pwd=SFVEL1Eva0ZSaHhPcDcwSmovSCtiUT09

 

Meeting ID: 822 7458 9287

Passcode: 635195

Meeting ID: 822 7458 9287

Passcode: 635195

Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kdjxC613kS

Have a lovely weekend,

Emma Howard