Student newsletter 27.03.2020
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Letter from Mrs Cochrane - 27.03.20
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Vision, values, motto and mission statement
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Upper School assemblies
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Mr Blanchenot's weekly email
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IT Support - Help at Home
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Guide to coping with school closures
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Wellbeing: Help and support
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Barton Gardens Festival
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Matt Parker Maths Puzzles
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Accelerated Reader Quizzing
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Staffordshire Libraries Free Online Books and Resources
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Online Book Related Activities
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Year 11 & Year 13 exam update
Dear Parents/Carers
As we enter week two of our school closure I would like to update you on how the School Community has been responding.
Key Workers
The school has been open each day to provide emergency childcare provision for children of Key Workers. Thank you to those staff who have been involved with this. We are limiting our staff being in school by producing a supervision rota. The children have been fantastic and we are glad that we are able to support our Key Workers in this challenging time.
We are putting plans together for emergency provision for children of Key Workers during the Easter Holiday. I would like to offer a special ‘thank you’ to Mrs Lord and Mrs Joseph who are co-ordinating this provision.
Remote Learning
We have all been learning what this means practically as we have moved through the week. Balancing working from home and supporting children with home learning is a challenge to us all. The school has, and continues to, evaluate the amount of work that is being sent home to our students. The key think here is to ensure that this is manageable. Therefore, we would suggest that KS3 students spend a maximum of 25 mins and KS4 students spend a maximum of 30 mins on the tasks set. KS5 students may be required to do work in a little more depth. This is not a substitution of teaching but is aimed at students keeping their minds active during the period of school closure.
There will be no work set for students during the Easter Holidays. We would encourage the students to read lots, spend time outside (within the Government Guidelines) and to keep connected with their friends and family.
Communications
The school will continue to communicate with parents using the SZApp (Please make sure you have downloaded this to your devices), email and social media (Twitter: @johntaylorhigh and FaceBook: John Taylor High School Newsfeed). Again, we are evaluating our systems and are looking at streamlining this going into next week. There has, naturally, been a significant amount of communication between JTHS and parents/carers as we moved into this new way of working.
Teachers have had some lovely messages via Social Media and emails into school. Many of these were shared with all our staff this morning and it has really lifted the spirits of our staff. Thank you.
Finally, have a well-deserved rest over the weekend. Stay safe and look out for each other. #BeNice
With very best wishes
K Cochrane
Head of School
Dear Parent/carer,
Vision, values, motto and mission statement
As you know, since last September, I have been working on the whole school vision, values, mission statement and school motto. When I launched this piece of work with the staff in September, I spoke to them about the Headteacher of the Kensington Academy, which was next to Grenfell Tower - he spoke so passionately at a Head teachers conference that I was at and conveyed his powerful message about finding strength, from the school vision and values through their difficult period.
There have been contributions from a number of different working groups: Governors, Senior Leadership Team, Teaching and Support staff, Students (Year 7-13) and Parents. The graphic display which will encompass all of the below, is not ready to share at this point, but I felt now would be an appropriate time to share the final version with you.
Vision:
One community, striving for personal excellence.
Values
Respect
Kindness
Integrity
Perseverance
School motto
Turn up, work hard, be nice!
Mission statement
In order to achieve our vision and reflect our core values, we will strive to:
Create an inclusive school culture where strong relationships are built on mutual respect, kindness and acceptance of others.
Encourage all to engage positively in the school and wider community, acting with integrity and taking responsibility for our choices and achievements.
Work together to secure success for all members of our community.
Deliver effective, research-informed lessons that challenge and motivate students to work hard, persevere and achieve.
Offer highly valuable and memorable experiences within and beyond the classroom that enhance personal development and academic excellence.
In this challenging period, I can't think of a better way to feel that - JTHS is one community, striving for personal excellence. During this last couple of weeks, the school community has demonstrated that in abundance!
We all need to show kindness and respect to each other, persevere in challenging times and act with integrity (do the right thing when no-one is watching - stay in!)
Thank you for all the lovely comments of support that have been sent into the school, they really do mean a lot and are very much appreciated by all of us.
Please do look after yourselves and your loved ones
With very best wishes,
Mrs. Cochrane
Head of School
Mr Thompson and Mr Forden have been busy recording assemblies for Upper School. Please follow the links below in order to view these:
Dear all,
Following on from your first day of ‘remote learning’ (although some of you have been in school!). I wanted to just send through a few thoughts which hopefully will help you over the days to come. Some of you will have seen the assembly video that I shared on Friday which was about ensuring you consider how you can display kindness to others. I believe that this is even more important at this time when you will be spending lots more time with family. We are all stressed about the current situation which may lead to arguments and we need to avoid this. This has certainly been the case in my household and we are all trying our best to keep being kind at the forefront of our minds. If you did not see the video, it can be viewed on this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwAYpLVyeFU
The other resource I would like you to consider is the following ‘Coping calendar’
https://www.actionforhappiness.org/coping-calendar
This provides 30 suggested actions to help look after ourselves and each other as we face this challenge together. This could be a very valuable activity to attempt to complete, either as an individual or a family. Please share with your parents! You will notice that the heading of the calendar is ‘Keep calm. Stay wise. Be kind.’ Highly appropriate at this time.
Establishing a sensible daily routine is important. It would be wise to ensure you stay on top of your school work and take part in some form of exercise. However, the most important thing is looking after yourself and your family. Anything that you can do to maintain a positive outlook can only be a good thing.
Good luck for the rest of the week! Please look after yourselves and your families.
Best wishes,
Mr Blanchenot.
Just a quick reminder from IT Support @ JTHS.
If you are having any technical issues accessing Office365 or Go4Schools, in the first instance, please read the linked document which contains lots of help.
JTHS_Student_working_at_home_help_and_guidance
If you are still struggling then please email :
Sorry for the strange email but this ensures your message will be seen by a team of 6 it technicians and someone will be able to help you.
Please keep safe and look after yourself.
See you all again soon
Mr Duncan (Snr IT Technician)
Alistair Duncan - JTHS
[email protected]
The guide below was created to support parents. However, there is also lots of valuable information for students.
Attached are some helplines, apps and website to provide you with support whilst school is closed.
Take care.
Unfortunately the Barton Garden Festival has been cancelled. However, please see this flyer for possible alternative activities:
Matt Parker Stand-up Mathematician (yes there is such a thing!) has started a weekly YouTube Maths Puzzle video.
The first one is available here:
If you want to test your grey matter with some recreational Maths then have a go!
Just a reminder that Year 7s should still be reading and quizzing whilst we are off school. It was very encouraging to see lots of students go home with armfuls of books and we hope they enjoy reading them.
Accelerated Reader quizzes can still be completed via the School Website under the Learning Tab, then LRC, Accelerated Reader appears in the middle of that page.
Merits and certificates will still be awarded whilst we're off school and students should always check to see if a book is quizzed even if it's not a school library book.
Happy reading Year 7 and stay safe.
Mrs Collier - John Taylor High School
Phone: 01283247800
[email protected]
Staffordshire Libraries have lots of free to access Ebooks, EAudiobooks and Emagazines, if students run out of reading material, plus lot of eresources via their website:
https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Libraries/Library-services/eLibrary/eLibrary.aspx
https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Libraries/Library-services/Free-online-resources.aspx
It is free to join and will need to be done online, now public libraries have closed:
https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Libraries/Library-services/Free-online-resources.aspx
Mrs Collier - John Taylor High School
Phone: 01283247800
[email protected]
There are lots of free activities, competitions and ideas available online to support home learning, or just provide a change of routine! I've compiled a short list of some interesting ones, including authors reading aloud at regular times each day. I will post an updated version of this each week.
Mrs Collier Collier - John Taylor High School
Phone: 01283247800
[email protected]
Dear Parents/Carers and Students,
You will be aware that the government have decided to cancel Year 11 and 13 exams this year. They have produced some guidance on this which can be accessed on the link below. This was shared with you last week.
Some students and parents have contacted the school with concerns about their child’s grades. Whilst we fully understand and share your concerns, we have received no further guidance. Please be assured that as soon as we receive any new information regarding this process, we will pass it on. Until then, please refrain from contacting staff to ask about your child's GCSE results, A Level results, Sixth Form place or University application.
In order to address some of the queries raised, the paragraphs below are from the government guidance. (Please follow the link above in order to access the full version). Schools have not been given anything further at this time.
Will all students receive their predicted grade?
No, we know that simply using predicted grades would not be fair to all students. The calculated grade will take into account teachers’ assessment of the likely grade as well as other factors such as prior attainment, so students’ final grades will not necessarily reflect their predicted grades.
It also explains how mock exam results may be included:
Mock exam results will be one of the pieces of evidence that will be taken into account in this process, alongside other factors. Ofqual will ensure schools are provided with clear guidance on how to do this fairly and robustly.
It also mentions past performance of the school:
Ofqual will consider carefully how to ensure the process is as fair as possible, which is likely to include considering measures that reflect how much progress a student would have been likely to have made at the school they are attending.
As a school, we will be determined to reflect the message below that is also included in this guidance:
We (the government) will work closely with Ofqual and awarding organisations to ensure candidates are awarded a fair grade that recognises the work they have put in. If a student does not believe the correct process has been followed in their case they will be able to appeal on that basis. In addition, if they do not feel their calculated grade reflects their performance, they will have the opportunity to sit an exam, as soon as is reasonably possible after schools and colleges open again. Students will also have the option to sit their exams in summer 2021.
One of the reasons that we have asked students to carry on completing work is to ensure they are fully prepared if they do choose to take an exam. It also consolidates the knowledge they have been taught which may be useful in their future, especially for those subjects they wish to study.
Please be assured that we will attempt to do our best to support the best interests of all of our students. This a truly unprecedented and challenging time for them. As soon as we are able to share any further details, we will do so in a timely manner.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation,
Yours faithfully,
Mr J Blanchenot
Deputy Head of School