READING HACK

Get involved in South Gloucestershire Libraries’ exciting new volunteering scheme for young people.

Reading Hack is a programme led by young people aged 13 – 24, who do reading activities and volunteering, called hacks to gain skills and experience:

·         Meet new friends

·         Make a difference

·         Learn new skills including:

o   Marketing and promotion

o   Team working

o   Creative skills

o   Communication and many more

 

For more information contact Mrs Carrington in the LRC or follow the links below:

www.southglos.gov.uk/libraries

 

www.readinghack.org.uk

YEAR 10 AND 11 EXAMS

Year 10 are currently sitting their pre public exams and Year 11 public exams start on Monday 16^th May 2016.  Both Year 10 and Year 11 have access to GCSE Pod which is an excellent revision aid for both year groups.  More information for can be found on the Marlwood School website.  Please follow the link below:-

 

http://www.marlwood.com/ws-public/uploads/269_Full_Parent_User_Manual.pdf

PREMIUM PARTNERS

Just a quick reminder that Premium Partners now have a page dedicated to Apprenticeships and Saturday/summer jobs.  The link to this web page is below:-

 

http://www.thornbury-premium-partners.co.uk/apprenticeships-and-jobs

THE QUEEN’S 90TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Four students and I had the pleasure of attending a service at St Mary’s Church in Thornbury for a formal celebration of The Queen’s 90th Birthday for the whole of Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire, with a number of dignitaries from the two counties in attendance.

Also on the guest list for the invite-only event were 90 residents of the county who have reached the landmark age of 90.

Reverend Jan van der Lely, St Mary’s vicar who led the service, described it as “an uplifting and inspiring experience.”

The service will feature in an episode of Songs of Praise which will be broadcast on June 12.

YOUTH POLITICAL FORUM

More than 30 students from Castle School and Marlwood School, ranging from Year 7 all the way to sixth form, discussed topics including the EU Referendum, Trident, and whether prisoners should have the ability to vote, in the political forum set-up by Thornbury and Yate MP Luke Hall.

Throughout the session, the students would hear presentations and talks from guests on their pre-selected topics, before breaking off into groups to debate the issue, and then taking it to a ballot to vote.   “It is really impressive to see how interested these young people are,” said Mr Hall.

Well done to all students who took part.

NEWS FROM WITHIN THE CSET CLUSTER

Who says employability skills are only for older children? At Charfield Primary school, Premium Partners have been working with Year 5 and 6 students as they produce a newspaper. They have had illustrators, photographers, journalists and even an advertising team who have managed to sell more space than that paper had originally allocated.

Now after several months of writing, designing, selling advertising and editing, Charfield Chatter is finally on the newstands! 14th April sees it in all the editions of the Gazette newspaper.  This story was picked up by BBC Points West so there was excitement in the playground at Charfield as this means over 46,000 people would have heard about their newspaper.

If you would like to see the BBC Points West interview please click on the link http://youtu.be/6wsqXjrAoys

GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT

On Monday 22nd February Key Stage 3 students took part in an attempt to break the World Record for the most people taking part in Simultaneous Literature Quizzes.  This was a venture undertaken with other schools in multiple venues.

The current record was 2,679 people quizzing, but we are very excited to announce that, in news just in, a whopping 11,828 took part.  That is nearly four and a half times the record we needed to beat!!

Congratulations to all those who took part!

MARLWOOD SCHOOL - TIME FOR READING

Marlwood School receives the Time For Reading - Silver Award.

Marlwood School's commitment to reading continues.  The Time For Reading scheme was set up by the Local Authority to promote an enjoyment of reading.  There were a number of criteria the school had to meet in order to achieve this award, needless to say we successfully met them! The benefits of a high level of reading for our young learners are obvious and we use the Accelerated Reader system to track our students' progress with their reading.  Huge congratulations to all involved and thanks to you as parents for supporting us from home.  We have the Gold Award firmly in our sights!

AIRBUS AEROSPACE DAY

Mrs Seymour took nine Year 8 girls to Airbus last week where the Engineering giant, joined forces with Bristol University to hold its inaugural Aerospace Day.

Hosted by the university's Faculty of Engineering, dozens of Year 8 girls from five secondary schools came together to learn about the benefits of STEM subjects and the jobs which they can lead to.

During the day the students learnt about aeronautics, aeroplane design and leant to fly a plane in a in a static flight simulator.

Professor Ian Lane, Airbus senior technical expert and university ambassador said: "The day went really well. It was great to see the enthusiasm of the students on the day as well giving them the chance to meet women engineers from Airbus who were excellent ambassadors for the business and for engineering as a career choice."

Mrs Seymour has said that this was a rewarding and challenging day for the girls, with two Marlwood students winning the design challenge.

Well done to all who attended.

 

 

NEWSLETTER

The latest version of our Newsletter is available on the School Website under the 'news' tab or you can follow the link below:

 

http://www.marlwood.com/ws-public/uploads/269_Final%20Newsletter%20Term%204.pdf

 

The Newsletter for Term 4 gives you an insight into activities which have taken place during the term and also lists future events for your information.

 

 

MARLWOOD SPELLING BEE 2016

The Second Marlwood Spelling Bee has been won by Scott Smith from Year 10 and Berkeley House. It was a closely contested affair with the three other finalists pushing him all the way.   As always, everyone is a winner and each contestant received a certificate and a prize for taking part.  It was also lovely to have last year’s winner (Yolanda Joseph-Guy) present to pass the cup to Scott. His name will now join hers on the permanent trophy. All the finalists took home fantastic prizes donated by our preferred partners: Linela Ltd, NFU Mutual and The Thornbury Lions Club. There was music from some of our very talented musicians to entertain the audience and, between heats, parents and guests were able to take part in a difficult spelling quiz, purchase young adult fiction from a book stall and try their luck with a raffle for a huge box of Easter chocolate. Delicious refreshments were provided by Year 11 pupils, raising money for their trip to Peru.  Two sixth formers, Jai Das and Megan Edwards, ably presented the evening.

A key ingredient for the success of this event grows from the collaboration of the English and Literacy Faculty, the Science Faculty, the Music, Art and Drama Departments, Ms Carrington (Library Resource Manager), sixth form students and all the technical teams, working together for excellence, and we are already beginning to plan for next year.

FUTURE OF MARLWOOD AND SEVERN BEACH PRIMARY SCHOOL

We are pleased to announce an exciting development in regards to the futures of Marlwood and Severn Beach schools.

From September 2016 the two schools will work together to provide an excellent education for young people aged 4 – 18 in our community.

This development builds upon the excellent relationship between the two schools as partners within the Marlwood School cluster and Castle School Education Trust (CSET).

Severn Beach will remain a distinct and separate school but will have a much closer working relationship with Marlwood School. The aim of this development is to improve the experience for all children. Mr Pope will become Executive Headteacher overseeing both schools.

There will be opportunities through the summer term for the community to come together with the staff of the school in preparation for the beginning of the next academic year.

We are sure that these exciting developments will be received positively by our communities.

CONCORD BOOK AWARD

On Tuesday Mrs Gill and Mrs Carrington took 15 students to the Concorde Book Awards which was held in Emersons Green.  The event was a huge success and enjoyed by all.

The shortlisted books for the awards are listed below and are highly recommended reads: 

·         The Fearless, Emma Pass

·         Apple and Rain, Sarah Crossen

·         Terror Kid, Benjamin Zephaniah

·         Wild Boy, Rob Lloyd Jones

·         She is not Invisible, Marcus Sedgewick 

·         Would the real Stanley Carrot please stand up?

The winner of this year's award was Emma Pass for The Fearless - a gripping dystopian tale.

We have met as a reading group once a week since October, diligently reading the six shortlisted books for the award.  We also made numerous contributions to the Concorde Blog during this time.  Our efforts were rewarded last night, when we were presented with the Blogging Award (A Bristol Blue Glass paperweight) at the event.  It was chosen for the quality of the blogs written, including how we interacted with other schools, our opinions on language used in books and how we compared some of the books to others we had read.  The award was collected from guest author Cavan Scott by Bethan Jenkinson and Melodi Bending.

Concorde Book Award Blog link http://concorde2016.edublogs.org/

Congratulations to all involved!

PARENT CONSULTATION EVENT 2

Thank you to all parents/carers who attended Parent Consultation 2 on Thursday 3^rd March.  Many of you commented on how valuable you found the conversation in helping you to understand your child as a learner.  We have since had a steady supply of feedback by e-mail with the majority reinforcing the view that the event was very useful.  You have made a number of suggestions that you feel would develop the evening further.  These will be taken into consideration by the staff working party.

Information was available to parents in the LRC when they signed in and is also available via the links below if you would like to take a closer look:

Parental Engagement Survey – http://www.marlwood.com/ws-public/uploads/269_Parental%20Engagement%20Survey%20Results.pdf

Parent Survey (PC1) - http://www.marlwood.com/ws-public/uploads/269_Parent%20Survey%20Results.pdf

Changes to GCSE - http://www.marlwood.com/ws-public/uploads/269_Changes%20to%20GCSE.pdf

THE GUINESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS

 

The Guinness World Record attempt Marlwood took part in achieved a new World Record with 6,388 participants taking book quizzes simultaneously (from 62 schools, libraries, publishers and bookshops). 

 

Well done to students in Year’s 7, 8 and 9 for their participation and Mrs Carrington for organising the event!!

WORLD BOOK DAY

 

Parent Consultation Day was held on World Book Day this year, so parents were invited to "Take the Pledge" to encourage their children to read for 20 minutes every day.  There are many published reports showing the benefits of regular reading, including increased vocabulary, motivation, imagination, and greater success in all subjects, including maths.  We would like to encourage ALL of our students to read for pleasure for 20 minutes every day.

READ XV FESTIVAL

 

Jamie Curtis was the lucky winner of tickets for Bristol Rugby -v- Cornish Pirates game at Ashton Gate on Sunday.  He has also been invited to the Fanzone to meet some of the players and join in the Reading Passport celebrations for this year's Read XV Festival of Rugby.  His name was selected from a hardworking group who have achieved 100% attendance this year to date and consistently show a good attitude to their work.

MARLWOOD SPELLING BEE

On the evening of 9th March 2016, Marlwood School will hold its second ever Spelling Bee.  This promises to be a really exciting event and is being supported by members of the local business community.  Students took part in tutor competitions in order to find a worthy winner from each group who will then take part in a series of heats during the evening until we have our Marlwood Spelling Champion.  As well, there will be performances from some of our talented musicians and a display of ‘spelling bees’ from a DART Faculty competition.   Our Literacy Leaders and Ambassadors will be delighted to welcome parents, friends and family who are all invited to attend this annual celebration of spelling excellence at Marlwood.

Growth Mindset at Marlwood

For the past few months we have been exploring the ideas around this simple but positive approach to improving learning.  In our lessons, assemblies and displays we have been promoting effort as a personal quality, building resilience in learners and celebrating mistakes as excellent learning opportunities.  Recent research studies have shown that consistently emphasising these qualities assists in developing more independent and resilient learners.
We shared some of these thoughts at our Parents' Consultation Evening and we offer these links for those of you who wish to know more.
Here are a number of short articles explaining the origins of Growth Mindset
This site attempts to use some graphics to separate Fixed Mindset thinking from that of Growth Mindset
Here is a summary of the precepts behind Growth Mindset thinking

THE PAULINE QUIRKE ACADEMY

Kira Lambert in Year 8 and Fraser Stone in Year 7, both from Holt House, recently had a fantastic experience with their Performing Arts  group 'The Pauline Quirke Academy',  when they travelled to London's West End to perform at Her Majesty's Theatre in a musical show called  'Lazy Ace' with the three other best PQA's in the country.  As a result of this Kira, Fraser and their friends have passed their Trinity Exam in Musical Theatre with flying colours and will be receiving a certificate very soon. We were also delighted to hear that ex pupil now young adult - James Millward starred in this piece too.

We follow their careers with interest!

 

SPORTS UPDATE

Commiserations to our Year 11 Rugby team as they narrowly lost to Chew Valley in the Super 8 Quarter final by 3 tries to 2.

Well done to our Year 8 and Year 11 Football teams for progressing to the next stage of the Bristol and South Gloucestershire Cup 2016.

GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT

On Monday 22^nd February Key Stage 3 students took part in an attempt to break the World Record for the most people taking part in Simultaneous Literature Quizzes.  This was a venture undertaken with other schools in multiple venues.

The current record is 2,679 people quizzing simultaneously.  The paper work has been sent to Guinness World Records for verification, and we will know the outcome on World Book Day on the 3^rd of March if we have met their very strict criteria to break the record.

We had 263 very excited students taking part on Monday, which was also turned into a House Competition.  Kingsley won the House Competition and we will update you when we hear the outcome from the Guinness World Record Team.

MARLWOOD TRIP TO BRISTOL UNIVERSITY

Marlwood School Year 10 and selected Year 9 students experienced a unique opportunity today as they visited Bristol University to discover what it is like to attend university and live as a full time university student. Nearly 130 students were able to sit in the Great Hall of the Wills’ building for an in depth presentation on all aspects of university life. As many students appeared to confuse the location for Harry Potter’s Hogwarts they learnt about all aspects of study and life in such prestigious surroundings. Students were also given a tour of Bristol University by student ambassadors, provided with lunch in the university refectory and sampled a Science Lecture on ice cream making and a Law Lecture debating teenager medical rights.

Student verbal feedback and information collated in a questionnaire of the day was extremely positive with lots of discussions shared in regards to applying to university and seeking to achieve the grades at GCSE and A Level which would make this dream a reality.

Well done to all those who took part and they will now hopefully challenge their own aspirations for higher education.

RETURN TO A CAREER IN TEACHING AND GET BACK TO MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Whether you left to bring up a family or explore a different career, returning to teaching gives you the chance to make a difference every day.  Bring your skills back to the classroom and we’ll support you at every step to ensure your return is smooth and tailored to meet your needs.

Groups of schools will be running a new initiative to help teachers return to the classroom.  Each school taking part will be able to provide a free package of bespoke support to help qualified teachers return in a way that best suits them.

The support provided by the Return to Teaching programme could include subject knowledge and classroom training, behaviour management advice, a guide to assessment frameworks and current initiatives, as well as one to one mentoring.  You can apply until the end of March 2016.

Visit education.gov.uk/returners to receive more information about how to apply for the programme.

HELP US TO SAFEGUARD SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S CHILDREN

We are raising awareness of how parents/carers of children can help to keep children safe, happy and well if they are ‘privately fostered’.

It is the public’s shared duty to help their local council identify children and young people who are living away from home.

Parents, carers and professionals should inform South Gloucestershire Council if:

·         They know of a child who is living with someone other than a parent of close relative

·         They are looking after someone else’s child.

 

If this arrangement involves a child under the age of 16 (18 if disabled) and lasts for 28 days or more, it is a known private fostering.  Close relatives are defined at step-parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles or aunts.  For example this could be:

·         A child living with family friends because parents have separated or are unwell

·         A teenager living with the family of a boy/girlfriend

·         A child from overseas, in this country for education or healthcare reasons

It is a priority of South Gloucestershire’s Safeguarding Board to work with these children and their carers to make sure they don’t miss out on the support available to them, including essential welfare checks.

SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE SUPPORT GROUP

Supportive Parents is a charity providing information, advice and support to parents, children and young people with any type of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). 

The next support groups are at:

Brimsham Green Secondary School, Room 1, Supportive Education Unit, Broad Lane, Yate, BS37 7 LB (first building after school Reception on Tuesday 15^th March and Tuesday 17^th May from 7.30 pm – 9pm

Kingswood Children’s Centre, Hollow Road, Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, BS15 9TP on Tuesday 16^th February and Tuesday 19^th April from 7.30 – 9 pm.

For more details contact their Information, Advice and Support Line on 0117 989 7725 or www.supportiveparents.org.uk

THE RUFF GUIDE TO SHAKESPEARE

The Performing Arts and English Faculties hosted a very special performance on Friday 5th February for the whole of Year 8.

Students from the world renowned Bristol Old Vic Theatre School joined us on their current tour of 'The Ruff Guide to Shakespeare', a play that has been especially written to mark the four hundredth anniversary of Shakespeare's death.

We enjoyed silly sketches, toe-tapping songs, daft dance routines and extracts from all the famous and some less well known plays.  This 'Horrible Histories' style show was perfect for a Year 8 audience, who were a superb audience, firing interesting and thought provoking questions at the cast afterwards. None of us could believe the energy and skill of the performers, who played multiple musical instruments as well as acting, singing and dancing.

Years 8 were inspired and several spoke out about their desire to follow their dreams in the future and pursue career paths in the performing and creative arts. Our congratulations to Toby Hulse, the director, who came along and treated local teachers to a superb training session afterwards.

A great occasion and a big treat for old and young alike!

POST 16 CAREERS EVENT

On Friday 5th February Marlwood 6th form provided all Year 12 students with the opportunity to attend a range of activities and workshops to support them with the crucial decisions of what they do after Year 13.  Members of the SGS Careers Service advised students on post 18 options, careers, higher education, further training, apprenticeships and gap years. Those students involved found the interactive sessions extremely helpful and beneficial in shaping their next steps.

 

YEAR 9 OPTIONS EVENING

Year 9 Options Evening was held last night and was really well attended by parents, gathering information to help them guide their son/daughter on which GCSE courses will be most suitable for them.  The information booklet is on the website for anyone unable to attend.

http://www.marlwood.com/ws-public/uploads/269_Complete%202016%20-%202018%20Booklet.pdf

 

ENGLISH TOURING OPERA COMPANY

We once again had another superb day with our friends from New Siblands Secondary School and the professionals from English Touring Opera.  Tim Yealland, Education Director from English Touring Opera said 'It's like coming home to Marlwood!’  He was joined by composer Russell Hepplewhite and Cellist Rebecca Hepplewhite to create a beautiful story with music, dance and song.  Our Year 10 Drama and Music students proved themselves to be both creative and kind in making students from New Siblands feel very welcome.  This work follows our continued relationship with both New Siblands and English Touring Opera.  We have created many other mini Operas and two large, week long Opera projects.  We consider this to be a very special work for Marlwood, with us all benefiting from a world class opera company in this way. This time the theme was deeply thought provoking as we considered refugee children and their plights to escape from war torn countries.

Thank you and well done all for an excellent day.

SPORTS UPDATE

Football

This year we have decided to play training matches year group vs year group to get them prepared for the school football season. Not only does this allow teams to practice in a competitive situation, it also builds upon the vertical tutor system as players will compete against people they may never have any contact with otherwise. So far this has been extremely successful and the teams are certainly benefitting from this experience.

Cross Country

The Avon Schools Cross Country event progressed on Saturday 16th January. Schools from all over the South West attended including Marlwood School. In the inter girls event, Harriet Foulner finished in 29th place. Joe Mead in the minor boys finished in 14th place and Joe Leather finished in 13th place in the inter boys. Well done to everyone who represented Marlwood School in cross country this year.

Parent Consultation Event 2

Thursday 3rd March

We have started preparing for the second of our Parent Consultation events.  The first event in November 2015 was very successful with the feedback from parents overwhelmingly positive and supportive.

As we have listened to parent, staff and student feedback, you will see some subtle changes compared to the first event.

As we move towards the next meeting the priority will be ensuring that our students have made progress as learners and in their levels/grades.  To help them with this we would ask that you continue to check with them to ensure they are working within the targets for development that they set themselves in the first meeting.

Further information will be available as we approach the 3rd March.

Positively Mad

On Wednesday our Year 11 students received a whole day on revision, exam preparation and motivation from the company 'Positively Mad'.  As we enter the home stretch in our students GCSE courses our hope is this will have been useful to our students as they ready themselves. 

Further information and resources are available on the School Website, VLE Links and Student Links 'Revision Blog for Year 11'.  We are encouraging our students to share information and resources so if your child finds something that would be of use to others then please ask them to report this to theschool@marlwood.net.

Uniform

A number of students have returned this term with items of clothing that do not adhere to our uniform policy.  We are working with students and families to address these issues.

Our students looked incredibly smart in their uniform during Terms 1 and 2 and we appreciate that this was achieved through us all working to adhere to our high standards.  We know that we will have your support in continuing to ensure that our students wear their uniform with pride.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat

Last night saw the opening performance of Joseph!.  Hours of dedicated hard work across the full range of performing arts students and staff were rewarded with a top quality production that zipped along with pace and energy.  The acting, the singing, the costumes, the orchestra/band, the staging, the technical production, the back stage support and the pre-performance/interval refreshments and, yes, the 'Technicolour Dreamcoat' itself were all amazing.

One audience member wrote in an overnight review -

"........I've seen Joseph at the Bristol Hippodrome and I have to honestly say, I enjoyed your show just as much as seeing the professionals perform it!"

Huge thanks and appreciation to all those responsible for a 5 star production.  A stunning example of 'working together for excellence'.

Christmas Concert

For those of us fortunate enough to find room in St Helen's church the Marlwood School Christmas Concert was an absolute treat.  A packed two hour programme was led and delivered by Marlwood students and the level of expertise was clear to all those who enjoyed the music that was produced.  A range of artists performed: soloists, ensembles, bands, choirs and an orchestra.  They delivered an eclectic mix of music and musical styles for the audience to enjoy.  The technical support and the interval refreshments were of an equally high standard leading to an evening of real quality. 

Huge thanks go to all of the performers and the Marlwood school staff for the time, effort and dedication required to produce such a fantastic evening.  I'm sure I was not the only person who left the church filled with pride and festive cheer!

Preparing for exams and tests.

Revision. A word which will all be familiar with.  However research indicates that it is a term that is not well understood and is used in schools to describe a range of different processes that students will undertake to prepare themselves for examinations.

We have created a revision blog for students and parents/carers aimed at supporting all students from year 7 to year 13 but especially our year 11 students.  On here you will find a mix of help and advice, specific revision techniques and subject specific websites. 

Happy revising!

A new blog is born.

A new blog is up and running!  With the express aim of keeping our community up to date with Sixth Form related news welcome to the Sixth Form Blog.

Special Events

As we approach the end of the second term we have two special events to look forward to.  Both events represent a huge amount of hard work and dedication by our students and staff and I'm sure a lot of support from home!

I do hope that you will be able to attend.

The Christmas Concert





Our school production

Celebration of Success evening

We had a fantastic evening on Thursday 26th November - our first 'Celebration of Success' event.  The evening kicked off with a bang when the fantastic Marlwood Samba Band treated us all to the Batucada Fanfare.  Year 13 House Captains Ella Cottle and Thom Harris-Lee guided us through proceedings with style.  Further musical contributions came from Emily Davis, flute soloist, Calvin Preston, guitar soloist and a wonderful sneak preview of our school production 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat' with Liam Green leading the choir and orchestra with 'Any dream will do'.  We were also treated to inspiring words from Year 13 House Captains Dominic Webb and Devini De Alwis who reflected on how an education at Marlwood has positively impacted on them.


Of course the main event of the evening was the prize giving.  Recipients were called onto the stage by Rhona Allgood, Chair of Governors, and a long procession of students, present and past, came to receive their prize and hearty applause from the audience.  Over 180 prizes were awarded for attainment/progress in subject areas and for community contribution at Marlwood School.  A huge congratulations to all the winners, whether you were able to attend or not, next year we are determined to make sure everyone can attend.


The evening finished with some lovely refreshments and an opportunity to meet and chat informally.  Thank you to all those of you who have provided feedback on how much you enjoyed the evening.


A huge thanks to all of the staff who contributed to the organisation of this event.

Marlwood School - Time For Reading

Marlwood School receives the Time For Reading - Bronze award.

Marlwood School's commitment to reading continues.  The Time For Reading scheme was set up by the Local Authority to promote an enjoyment of reading.  There were a number of criteria the school had to meet in order to achieve this award, needless to say we successfully met them! The benefits of a high level of reading for our young learners are obvious and we use the Accelerated Reader system to track our students' progress with their reading.  Huge congratulations to all involved and thanks to you as parents for supporting us from home.  We have the Silver Award firmly in our sights.

Parent Feedback Survey

A large number of you took the time at last Wednesday's Parent Consultation to complete our Parent Survey.  This feedback is very useful to us and therefore gratefully received. It was especially pleasing that the overwhelming majority of you stated that you felt your child/children were safe, happy, learning well and making good progress at Marlwood School.  As a consequence you would recommend Marlwood School to others. 

We will make a comprehensive summary of the survey available on the website and in this term's newsletter.

Parent Consultation Evening

Many thanks to all of you who attended on Wednesday 18th November.  Many of you commented on how valuable you found the conversation in helping you to understand your child as a learner.  We have since had a steady supply of feedback by e-mail with the majority reinforcing the view that the event was very useful.  You have made a number of suggestions that you feel would develop the evening further.  These will be taken into consideration by the staff working party.

The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal

Marlwood School remembers all of the men and women who have fought to protect our freedoms.  Poppies have been sold around the school throughout this term.  On Sunday 8th November we placed a wreath in Thornbury in memory of the fallen.

On the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month the school fell silent for two minutes.

“At the setting of the sun and in the morning, we shall remember them”

House Badge Competition

The house system is becoming an integral part of school life and students are increasingly engaging with their house to develop an identity.  To support this process students have been asked to design a house badge or emblem.  We received almost 100 entries across the four houses.  On Friday 6th November students were invited to judge the entrants to pick a winning design that best represented their house.  The four winning designs have now been identified. 

The winners will spend a day with a local design company, one of our premium business partners, to see their initial ideas developed and transferred to an e-design that will be used for many years to come.  Well done to everyone who contributed.

Visit to the George Spencer Academy

Before half term break I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the 'George Spencer Academy' school in Nottingham with Mr Hardy from the Maths Faculty.  The link to this academy comes about through our 'Whole Education'  network, which is focussed on innovative approaches in education.  A geographical feature of the academy is that their school site is split by a very busy dual carriageway, I'm sure that this has presented some logistical and health and safety barriers for the academy to overcome!

It was an inspirational day at a truly excellent school.  I for one came away impressed by the culture and ethos of the school.  They have very high aspirations for all of their students and believe that through developing the learners they can achieve them - the data certainly validates their approach.  Many of the strategies that have been employed align with ours - not least their focus on student led learning conversations which help students to understand how they can improve their progress and grades.

It was extremely useful to see the impact that the strategies we have employed at Marlwood will have over the coming years.

Year 11 Pre-Public Exams

Our Year 11 Students are in the middle of their pre-public examinations.  They appear focussed, serious and prepared.  We hope that students are taking advantage of the support that is available from teachers, tutors and the 'Marlwood Mountain' group mentors. 

If parents/carers are looking for ways of supporting students from home please do take a look at the 'Revision Blog' which is accessed through the 'VLE Links' tab on the website homepage.

We look forward to seeing how they have performed. 

Staff INSET day

On November the 2nd we enjoyed a very busy and very productive Staff INSET day.  The focus for our training was 'Learning Conversations' which will be a key feature of the Parent Consultation evenings this year.  With input from the 'Achievement For All' organisation, one of our key partners, we feel equipped to hold high quality conversation with students and parents/carers that focus on the student as a learner and the progress they are making in their subjects. 

We are all looking forward to the 18th November and the first of these conversations.

Attendance

The School attendance continues to be above our target of 95%.  A huge congratulations to every individual student who has attendance above this level, you are currently being celebrated on our attendance notice board out side Student Reception.

Absence from school for a sustained period of time or sporadically is a key reason for student underperformance.  Whilst absence for good reasons can be unavoidable I hope we can all work together to ensure that absence is minimised for the Students at Marlwood School.

Newsletter

The latest version of our Newsletter is available on the School Website under the 'news' tab.  If you haven't seen a copy, please do take a look as it is a comprehensive summary of a very positive Term 1.