This week we have welcomed Parents/ Carers of students in Years 7 and 11 into school for Curriculum Evenings. Whole School Priority 1 is: ‘A broad and balanced curriculum delivered through high quality adaptive teaching which creates a love of learning’. We started delivering Curriculum Evenings for Parents/ Carers last year so that they can be involved in the academic progress of their children. Research suggests that parental engagement has a positive impact on a child’s outcomes and leads to approximately 4 months additional progress. It is therefore vital that Parents/ Carers support their children with work/ studying at home. A reminder that all of your son/ daughter’s homework will be posted on Class Charts – If you need any support with accessing this App, please email classcharts@thehambleschool.co.uk
We look forward to seeing Year 9 and 10 Parents/ Carers next week.
Next week is WEEK 1
Question of the Week
Please select your answer in the form below, all fields marked * are required and to help prevent SPAM this form is protected by Google reCaptcha v3.
Each week we will ask parents/ carers a question in the Weekly Message – This will either be about a topic we are focussing on or an aspect of our school improvement plan. We would appreciate it if everyone answers it when reading the Weekly Message.
Events w/b 16 September
Monday 16 September – Year 9 Curriculum Evening – 5:30pm in the Main Hall. Please sign up here: https://forms.office.com/e/2pyMVetJed
Tuesday 17 September – Year 10 Curriculum Evening – 5:30pm in the Main Hall. Please sign up here: https://forms.office.com/e/1XrJLDjHqS
Tuesday 17 September – Year 11 Intervention Afterschool – Please follow your personalised timetable.
Thursday 19 September – Open Evening – School closes at 1:00pm. Some students have offered to help as Tour Guides or in Departments. Permission letters have been sent home.
Thursday 19 September – No Year 11 Intervention Afterschool due to Open Evening.
Future Dates
Monday 23 September – Year 8 Curriculum Evening – 5:30pm in the Main Hall.
Tuesday 1 October – Parent Forum with Mrs Valleley (Deputy Headteacher) at 6pm in SC16. Find out what we have been up to since the start of term and share your ideas. Sign up here: https://forms.office.com/e/VS9dSStbUE
Friday 4 October – PTA Quiz Night. 
Letters
You can find all letters sent home over the week here – https://www.thehambleschool.co.uk/letters-to-parents/
The canteen menus can be found here: https://www.thehambleschool.co.uk/food-and-drink/
Please check your child’s Attendance regularly on Class Charts
Theme of the Week – How can we achieve excellence together?
Next week, students will have an assembly from their Progress Leader which will focus on their ethos for the year group, including opportunities for student leadership, extra-curricular, student voice and rewards. This ties into the Tutor Personal Development Programme where students will be spending time deepening their understanding of what ‘excellence’ might look like for different people and how we can support each other in setting high aspirations, overcoming barriers, celebrating others’ success and ultimately ‘Achieving Excellence Together’.
Year 7 will be specifically focussing on their transition programme ‘Be Awesome, Go Big’. The programme aims to tackle all the aspects of transitions that students will encounter now they are in Secondary School and to provide them with strategies to help them make the most of their move to The Hamble School.
This Week at the Dinner Table…
- What ‘excellent’ things have you done recently that you are really proud of?
- What Extra-Curricular Clubs are you going to try this term?
- Do you want to get involved with Student Leadership? What would you like to do?
- Who do you look up to as a role model? What is it about them that makes you look up to them
School Photos
Year 7, 9 and 11 Students – School Photographs.
On Monday 16 September, students in Years 11, 9 and 7 will have their school photograph updated. These photos will be taken by Yellow Photography. More information on ordering prints will be sent home shortly. The photographs will be taken during Periods 1 – 3. These will be individual photos.
Punctuality
Good punctuality at school is essential for students to achieve their full educational potential. It is also vital for students to form good habits for later life.
All students are expected to arrive on time for school in the morning (by 8.30am, ready for their tutor time) and to arrive on time for each lesson. A register is taken at the start of the day and during each lesson. If a student is late they will be marked as ‘late’ on the register along with how many minutes late they were.
An automated system will contact you if your child has not arrived to school by 10am and we have not been provided with any reason for why they are not in school. This is for safeguarding purposes and to ensure that you are aware of the location of your child. In the rare occasions we suspect a child may be truanting or we have other concerns for their whereabouts, pastoral or safeguarding staff will also contact you.
According to DfE guidelines, registers must be closed after a certain time in the morning. Therefore, if a student arrives after 9.15am, they cannot receive a late mark but have to be marked as absent for the whole morning session. If the lateness is due to a legitimate reason e.g. a medical appointment, the absence can be authorised. Otherwise, the session is marked as an unauthorised absence. Parents/Carers could be liable for a fixed penalty notice if the child receives 10 or more unauthorised absence sessions.
We ask parents to support us in maintaining good punctuality by:
- Ensuring that their children get up in plenty of time to be ready and prepared for school
- Ensuring their child has organised their bag and equipment the night before so that this does not delay departure in the morning
- Discussing any issues of lateness to ensure this does not become a habit
- Monitoring their child’s attendance record via ClassCharts
- Taking a proactive approach and communicating with the school if you have any concerns regarding your child’s punctuality.
Year 7 and 8 – Reading Testing
As a school, we are always looking for ways to ensure that we can better understand and support the needs of students in terms of their abilities in a wide range of areas across the curriculum. With this in mind, we will be implementing a new test to measure and track progress in Literacy and Reading.
A Reading Test will be taken by the Year 7 and 8 cohorts, and will provide us with accurate and precise data to inform our understanding of student levels, and where/ how we need to best intervene for students who need support with reading. Students will take the test twice in an academic year so we can measure their progress and the impact of any interventions they may have been involved in.
The programme we will be using is called the NGRT by GL Assessment. It is digitally based and conducted on a computer with headphones. It will be carried out in computer rooms during one English lesson and shouldn’t take any more than 40 minutes to complete. Your student’s English teachers will give them the specific time they will be undertaking the test but we will be looking to start the first groups on Wednesday 18 September. This will follow information assemblies to both cohorts on Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 September for year 7 and 8 respectively.
More information for Parents/ Carers on the nature of the test can be found here:
We hope you will agree that this is an exciting and beneficial opportunity for all students to further develop their literacy skills and benefit from any identified support they may need If you have any further questions about the test, then please do contact Mr Clark-Lyons via general@thehambleschool.co.uk
Homework
Students have had a successful return to school over the past two weeks and will by now have received their first homework of the term. Homework is set once per week in every subject. Year 7 students will only receive homework in core subjects for the first half term.
Top Tips for Homework:
- Make sure you have access to Class Charts and check it every day (email ClassCharts@thehambleschool.co.uk if you require additional information).
- Look at each homework on the day it is set. Check the due date and resources.
- Plan ahead to ensure you have enough time to complete all homework. KS3 homework is 30 minutes per subject per week; KS4 is 1 hour per subject per week.
- Find a quiet place to work where you can concentrate free of distractions like mobile phones or TV.
- Show your homework to Parents/ Carers.
- If you need help, please message your teacher on Class Charts at least 4 school days before it is due.
- Ensure you look at the method of submission, so that you know how your teacher would like you to hand in your homework.
- Attend Homework Club after school on a Monday, Tuesday and Thursday in STEP if you need support
Celebrating Achievements
The students listed below achieved the most reward points this week – Well done to you!
- Year 7 – David O 7-7
- Year 8 – Thomas A 8-4
- Year 9 – Bobby N 9-9
- Year 10 – Reuben C 10-1
- Year 11 – Matilda D 11-2
Support
If you or your child would like support with wellbeing, please check out the links of our website: https://www.thehambleschool.co.uk/student-wellbeing-support/
We have recently added information about a number of free parent/ carer courses or events to this section of our website.
