It was another week of exciting events and trips – Learn with Us, The Rotary Competition, Cooper Vision, an assembly from Barton Peveril and the Science Week Eddy Henbury Visit. A number of parents/ carers also attended the Africa Adventures information evening and we hope that many students will be inspired to sign up.
On Thursday students and staff took part in the Red Nose Day Bake Off and there were some fantastic cakes available to buy at break time. Thank you to everyone who baked and all the students who donated money to Comic Relief by buying cakes. We will let you know how much money we raised in due course.
On Friday we hosted our first ever Cluster INSED Day with colleagues from Bursledon Infant and Junior Schools, Hamble Primary and Netley Abbey Infant and Junior Schools. Over 300 staffed listened to an inspiring speech from Vic Goddard – Executive Headteacher and well known for ‘TV fame’ in Educating Essex. Our support staff had the opportunity to attend a session with Anthony Bennett (‘Miracle Man’) and our teaching staff completed training with Amjad Ali – Senior Leader, SENDCo, education trainer and TEDx speaker. We focussed on ‘low effort, high impact’ strategies to use in the classroom for the benefit of all students.
On Tuesday 5 March we had our termly inspection visit from Hampshire County Council. We are pleased to report that the advisors felt that ‘lots of positive change has taken place’ since their last visit in November. During the monitoring day the advisors met staff, spoke to students, visited lessons and looked at student books. They were particularly impressed with our articulate the students were during meetings and how they appreciated the improvements which have been put in place across the school. Students could talk clearly about their learning journey and knew what they needed to do in each subject to make further progress. The advisors also praised the Inclusion Team and the significant improvements in the SEND provision over the last year. In lessons the advisors felt that there was ‘high-quality inclusive’ teaching and students were well supported.
Next week is WEEK 2
Events w/b 18 March
Monday 18 March – Year 9 Teenage Booster Vaccinations (parents/ carers were required to sign up).
Tuesday 19 March – Primary School Sports Event – Athletics.
Wednesday 20 March – Year 10 Drama Performance.
Thursday 21 March – Year 11 Mental Health Workshop (selected students).
Friday 22 March – Year 11 Mock Exam Results Assembly and Progress Reports will be sent home via email.
Future Dates
Tuesday 26 March – Parent Forum focussed on T&L and Curriculum. 6pm. Online – Sign up here: https://forms.office.com/e/6QWnn4TL3T
Wednesday 27 March – Year 11 Parents’/ Carers’ Evening. The letter has already been sent home. If you need another copy, please see the letters section of our website.
Thursday 28 March – Please note that school will finish at 1pm on this day. Students entitled to Free School Meals will need to get their food at break time. The Xelabus will leave the school site at 1:10pm on this day.
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
This Week at the Dinner Table
At The Hamble School we believe that students should have a wide range of experiences and opportunities outside of the classroom. We would ask you to have a look at our Extra Curricular provision and encourage your child to get involved in a club at lunchtime or after school.
https://www.thehambleschool.co.uk/extra-curricular-activities/
Here are some questions you could use to talk to them about hobbies/ interests and achievements:
- Do you have any hobbies? What is your favourite one?
- What hobby do you not currently do that you would like to get involved in? What is holding you back from having a go at it?
- Some people turn their hobbies into a career or a way of making money – Can you think of any examples?
- What achievement are you most proud of? Why?
- What is your greatest strength?
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.
Theme of the Week
Assemblies – Arts Week Launch
This week in assemblies, Mrs Bowman (Head of Creative Arts) will be introducing Hamble Arts Week 2024! to students in Years 7 – 10. Further information on this exciting event can be found below.
Personal Development – Safeguarding
In the Personal Development sessions during tutor time, students will focus on keeping themselves safe. They will discuss the following questions:
- Year 7 & 8 – How can I keep myself safe?
- Year 9 & 10 – How can I keep away from risky behaviour.
A reminder that there are several ways that students, parents/ carers or members of the community can report a concern – Please see information below.
We also have a wellbeing website, which we would suggest you explore with your child: https://www.thehambleschool.co.uk/student-wellbeing-resources/
Year 11 Update
Afterschool intervention will take place on Tuesday and Thursday.
On 22 March students will receive their mock exam results in a Results Assembly, these will then be emailed home to you on the same day with predicted grades. There will be a Parents’ Evening on Wednesday 27 March – This will be the final formal opportunity for parents/ carers and students to receive individual feedback before the real GCSEs start.
There will be intervention offered throughout the Easter holidays and timetables have now been emailed home. If you cannot find this in your inbox, please check your ‘junk mail’ and then email general@thehambleschool.co.uk if you would like it sent again.
Last week in assembly we talked to students about staying motivated and how there is still time to make a difference to their study habits. If they do not have a revision timetable and are not completing their own personal revision at home, they must start now. Get Revising! Is a great website to help them plan their revision – www.getrevising.co.uk It is free to set up an account and has the following features in the planner section:
- You can type in what subjects you are doing and the exam board
- It needs to know when you’re in school, what other commitments you have (e.g. swimming from 8pm until 10pm every Wednesday), how early/ late you’re prepared to revise etc.
- It needs to know exam dates and durations, and how much revision you want to do for each one.
- The website will then create a revision schedule based around those details.
- If you choose to you can then go into each revision session and add notes as to what you want to revise. It will also suggest resources linked to the exam board and subject.
- You can print off the revision plan, edit as needed etc.
In terms of revision resources, students should now all have the subject specific revision guides recommended by their teachers – It is worth sitting down with your child and ticking off that they have these for each subject. If they are missing any, please email general@thehambleschool.co.uk and we will help you find anything missing resources.
Students have access to GCSEPod https://www.gcsepod.com/students/ which has resources for every subject as well as general information about exams. If your son/ daughter has forgotten their password, please email general@thehambleschool.co.uk
If your son/ daughter needs some motivation, please do watch these clips with them:
- How to stay motivated https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m55cltA24mM
- Overcoming adversity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJzdRbHAhDg
- Never give up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgl90NtIyZ4
- What’s your why? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cba8cr8BfOc
- Why struggle is important https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlHSlOSI6EM
If you or your son/daughter have any further questions about the GCSE exams/ revision, please do get int touch via general@thehambleschool.co.uk
The Hamble School Arts Week 2024
Between the 15 and 19 of April, teachers will be making connections between their own subjects and Arts and Cultural, learning to ensure we meet our 4 main aims.
- Striving for excellence and innovation
- Being exciting, inspiring and engaging
- Ensuring a positive and inclusiveexperience
- Develop an appreciation of, and participation in, Arts and cultural activities
In tutor time that week, students will write and perform their own original spoken word Poetry on a topic of their choice.
The winner from each tutor group will have the chance to perform their poem again in the Big Hamble Poetry Slam final, where they have the opportunity to have their poem recorded and shared on the school website!
Students also have the opportunity to take part in a number of exciting opt-in events and workshops during the week – To register their interest they should complete the online form using the link or QR code below. Please ensure there is only 1 entry per student.
https://forms.office.com/e/9Ehvc9yyEf
Please ensure you have spoken to your child about this as some events require a parent contribution for resources or travel. All workshop and event registers will be randomly generated for fairness, with the aim to include all registered students in at least one additional event.
Final workshop registers will be displayed in the arts corridor from Thursday 28 March. For paid trips and events, a parent email will be sent and you will need to make payment via ScoPay.
Art Club – Lighthouse Sculpture
The Hamble School’s very own Little Light has arrived! Art Club students have begun working on the sculpture, painting patterns and designs in preparation for Southampton’s ‘Light the South’ trail to begin in July. Sneak peeks will be shown as progress is made on the sculpture. The public art event will take place in the city over the summer to raise money for Southampton Children’s Hospital. Further information can be found here: https://southamptonhospitalscharity.org/launch-of-new-art-trail-with-lighthouse-sculptures/
Academic Information
A good positive partnership between parents/ carers and the school will help your child achieve more academically and socially.
This year we have been asking parents/ carers to complete a reflection form after the Progress Reports have been sent home. The links for the form were put on the Progress Report letter. If you are a parent/ carer of a child in Year 8/9, please can you ensure that you have completed the feedback forms below by Friday 22 March – We do have a number of missing responses:
- Year 8 – https://forms.office.com/e/R8PSgqXMXM
- Year 9 – https://forms.office.com/e/sauH6B2cGT
If you are a parent/ carer of a Year 10 child and you have asked a question or requested a conversation with a member of staff following the Progress Report, they will be in touch before Easter.
Over the next few months students in Years 7-9 will be completing exams so that we can assess their progress but also practise what it is like to sit assessments in formal conditions. Exams for English, Maths and Science will take place in the Sports Hall/ Progress Zone. The dates for these exams are listed below and further information regarding exact timings will be distributed in due course via a letter.
- Year 7 – w/b 15 April
- Year 8 – w/b 22 April
- Year 9 – w/b 29 April
There is lots of information online about how parents/ carers can support their child with exams. For example the NHS https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/children-and-young-adults/advice-for-parents/help-your-child-beat-exam-stress/ has information about helping your child to beat exam stress. We have also listed some tips below:
- Help your child prepare for exams by creating a quiet study space at home, so they know where they can go to revise without being interrupted.
- Ensure that your child gets enough sleep – teenagers need between 8 and 10 hours and time outside to enjoy physical activities e.g. walking/ cycling.
- Study with your child – Support them with revision and offer to quiz them on topics.
- Help them prepare everything they need for the exams e.g. a clear pencil case, two black pens, an approved calculator for relevant exams, a clear water bottle which does not have any labels on it.
- Do not talk to them about exams as a test/ negative activity – Remind them that this is their chance to show what they know and ‘show off’ to the examiner.
If you feel you or your child would benefit from further support during the exams, please email general@thehambleschool.co.uk
Road Safety
We have been contacted by a member of the public who has reported that some students are not cycling to/ from school in a safe manner. Please can you ensure that if your child cycles to school they are wearing a helmet at all times. It is also important that they are taking an appropriate route using cycle lanes where possible.
We know that roads can be busy around the school, but a reminder that under the Highway Code you must not cycle on pavements unless they are also designated as cycle lanes. We have had reports that a small number of students are using the pavements, which then becomes unsafe for pedestrians (especially small children) as there is not enough room on the pavement for them to go past.
Further information on cycle safety can be found here: https://www.think.gov.uk/cycle-safety/
Celebrating Achievements
A reminder that we celebrate achievements every Friday with our award recognition system and Proud Friday. We have also awarded some Headteacher Commendations this week.
Find out more here: https://www.thehambleschool.co.uk/rewards-recognition/
The students listed below achieved the most reward points this week – Well done to you!
- Year 7 – Sofia E 7-9
- Year 8 – Ethan L 8-1
- Year 9 – Peyton H 9-5
- Year 10 – Levi W 10-3
- Year 11 – Amelia W 11-8
You can say ‘thank you’ to a member of staff here: https://www.thehambleschool.co.uk/staff-recognition/ they really do enjoy receiving these each week.
Support
If you or you 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.
