Happy New Year! We have enjoyed welcoming students and staff back in school this week for the start of 2024. It was also wonderful to see so many Year 11 parents/ carers at Year 11 Parents’ Evening this week.
This week we welcomed three new members of teaching staff:
- Mr Blowers – Assistant Head of Maths
- Ms Koziol – Teacher of Geography
- Mrs Rogers – Acting Progress Leader for Year 8.
Mrs Kinahan (Assistant Progress Leader for Year 8) is working alongside Mrs Rogers currently to provide a detailed handover of the year group.
We are very pleased that we have been able to secure experienced members of staff in these roles and all of the teachers have joined us with considerable experience from other local secondary schools.
Next week is WEEK 1
Events w/b 8 January
Wednesday 10 January – Whole School Production Auditions – See below.
Thursday 11 January – Year 7 Parents’ Evening. Please note that Year 11 Intervention will not take place on Thursday as staff will be attending Parents’ Evening.
Friday 12 January – Year 11 Test for Success.
Future dates
Monday 15 January – Saints Foundation Mental Health Workshop – See below.
Wednesday 17 January – Year 7 and 11 Group Photos.
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 – Healthy Lifestyles
This week the theme is ‘Healthy Lifestyles’. Students will be looking at the following questions during tutor time:
- Year 7 – How can we have a healthy diet?
- Year 8 – How can we get active?
- Year 9 – How can we make good choices?
- Year 10 – How can we deal with stress?
Students will also be reflecting on their Progress Reports and setting academic targets to ensure they achieve their potential in lessons this term.
Miss Cambridge (Headteacher) will be delivering assemblies with Progress Leaders based on ‘High expectations’.
Progress Reports and Parents’ Evening
Year 7 Progress Reports were emailed home on Friday. An explanation of how to interpret the report is included in the letter however, as this is the first full report in secondary school we know that you may wish to discuss this with the Progress Leader. Mr Webber (Acting Progress Leader) is happy to contact home for anyone who has questions – Please indicate this on the feedback form when you complete this.
A reminder that we ask all parents/ carers to complete the feedback form here: https://forms.office.com/e/t8tEyLm1Jj by Wednesday 10 January so that teachers can address any issues at Parents’ Evening.
If you cannot find the report in your emails or your ‘junk’ email box, please do email us on general@thehambleschool.co.uk and we will be happy to send this again for you.
We are also very much looking forward to seeing all Year 7 Parents/ Carers at Parents’ Evening on Thursday 11 January. If you have not already signed up using the details on the previous letter, you can do so here: https://hamblecollege.schoolcloud.co.uk/ If you require any support with this, please email general@thehambleschool.co.uk and we will be happy to help you.
Concerns
A significant proportion of the issues we deal with in school regarding unkindness between students start outside in the community (often on social media). We would ask parents/ carers to report any concerns using the ‘Report a Concern’ link on the homepage of the website. We would also ask that you monitor your child’s social media use regularly.
Please download the National Online Safety app to your phone. It will give you tips and information to keep you up to date.
National Online Safety’s FREE app is the easiest way to keep children safe online. It’s a one-stop-shop for parents and educators to learn everything they need to know about the latest apps, games and devices used by children. It provides instant access to online safety education, training and updates so that parents and educators can protect their children from online harm and abuse.
BROWSE HUNDREDS OF AWARD-WINNING GUIDES
- A new guide every week as part of our #WakeUpWednesday campaign.
- Find out about the latest online platform, game or device children are talking about.
- Search for online risks and get tips for keeping children safe online.
- Learn about parental controls and how to monitor online activity.
- Share, review and download your favourite guides.
Thank you for supporting us on keeping your child safe online.
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/national-online-safety/id1530342372
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.nationaleducationgroup.nos&hl=en_GB&gl=US
Men’s Mental Health
On Monday 15 January, 6pm – 7pm the Saints Foundation will run a workshop on men’s mental health. The aim of the session is to give local men the tools they need to better manage their mental health.
This is open to all community members and you do not need to be a parent at the school to attend, so please do bring along any friends, relatives etc.
Click here to sign up: https://forms.office.com/e/3TnwVcnDwM
Whole School Production
A reminder that if your son/ daughter would like to be part of the Whole School Production, auditions are on Wednesday after school.
Parking
We know that some parents/ carers pick up and drop off children in a car each day. Please can we ask that if you use the Everyone Active Car Park you park considerately and ensure you do not park in the disabled bays (unless you have a Blue Badge) or on the double yellow lines. We are keen to ensure good relationships with Everyone Active/ Gym users so that we can continue to allow parents/ carers to use this car park.
Please also remember that there is a nursery at the front of the school – Hamble Early Years and it is important for everyone’s safety (but particularly the safety of very young children) that you are extra vigilant when driving around the entrance to school.
Contact Details
Sometimes we need to contact parents/ carers in the day. We also need to regularly send communication via email (and occasionally post). Please ensure that we always have up to date contact information for your child. This includes a telephone number(s) which can always be reached during school hours, email address(es) which are accessed regularly and the current home postal address. We also use Class Charts to send notifications and ask all parents/ carers to have this app and check it on a daily basis (or use the alert function).
If you need to update us with information please email general@thehambleschool.co.uk If you need help with Class Charts, please email classcharts@thehambleschool.co.uk
Year 11 Update
Afterschool intervention will take place on Tuesday this week, but not Thursday due to Year 7 Parents’ Evening.
On Wednesday 31 January (6pm-7:30pm) there will be an Achieving Excellence Evening for both parents/ carers and students. The sessions will be bespoke based on your child’s needs. Further details and sign up will be emailed home in due course.
Year 11 Mock Exams will take place between Wednesday 7 February and Friday 5 March. A timetable will be sent home next week.
The final/ real GCSEs start on 17 April with some of the practical/ speaking exams (MFL) and continue until 26 June. We will send out the final timetable in due course.
Maths
We are at that exciting time of year where we begin “Test for Success”, our programme to prepare our Year 11 students at The Hamble School for their final GCSE exams, and drive improvement in their mathematics through robust assessment and feedback. This has been a part of our curriculum in Year 11 for many years and contributes to the rapid progress we observe as students approach their final exams, as well as students feeling more prepared and confident in mathematics.
This half-term, during Lessons 1 and 2 on Friday 12 January and Friday 26 January, all Year 11 students will sit a practice exam paper with a focus on a particular aspect of exam technique required for success. For the first Test for Success, the focus is “Checking your Answers”, which was particularly well received by students when we introduced it last academic year. There will be dedicated time in lessons before Friday in preparation for this, and in the following week feedback from class teachers on exam technique and particular areas of mathematics highlighted in the assessment.
Alumni
If you or a friend/ relative are a former student from The Hamble School and would be happy sharing your story with our current students, please complete the form here: https://forms.office.com/e/J2mhxj3r6e
We are particularly looking for people who would be happy talking to our Year 11s about their careers in an assembly.
Celebrating Achievements
A reminder that we celebrate achievements every Friday with our award recognition system and Proud Friday.
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 – Bohdan B 7-3
- Year 8 – Emily H 8-7
- Year 9 – Tillie P 9-8
- Year 10 – Charlotte E 10-3
- Year 11 – Olivia B 11-9
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.
