Events coming up
20th-21st Year 11 Mocks
22nd Year 10 Progress Evening
28th Dance Live
28th An Inspector Calls Trip
Message from the Leadership Team
Dear Noadswood families,
We hope that you are well and would like to thank you for your continued support and partnership with good things and challenges alike as term is back to full steam ahead.
It was my pleasure to spend the first three hours of my working week in with Year 10, visiting more or less all of their English classes, and seeing them all quiet and sensible, with many of them focused, engaged and giving it their all: strong relationships and committed learning on display in every classroom. Well-played, Year 10, Mr Wilkinson, Miss Fitzgerald and Mrs White and all of the English Department. That’s the maturity and the learning power we want to see and know you are capable of as a year group.
Wonder if I may next just remind parents that our school site is not formally supervised for students before 8.30am? We know some students need to arrive earlier than that, because of your work patterns and other commitments you have before school, and there are often adults around, of course. However, we do need to focus everyone on the fact that staff are either in the throes of arriving themselves, then attending morning briefings and meetings, and gate duties, before tutors then head to House time for 8.40am.
Therefore, if your child(ren) are in school earlier than 8.30am, we need them to conduct themselves with the utmost calm and good sense, knowing there is less of an adult presence around than usual - in any case, they know what we expect and how to behave whether we are there or not! Your support in reinforcing this message would be welcomed, as well as discouraging them arriving significantly earlier than 8.30am wherever possible.
Moving from that to some opportunities we are offering or that we have heard about from community friends: you know we encourage our students to make the most of all opportunities within and outside of school. You’ll read below about several superb opportunities for enrichment and opportunities to learn with your child(ren).
Southampton FC Women v Sunderland Women
At Noadswood we are proud of our girls' footballers with some alumni students going on to play for premier league teams. Southampton ladies have a fixture coming up on Sunday 19th January 2025, kick off 2pm - Southampton Football Club have a lot of new activities targeted towards bringing families to the Stadium, tickets are free to book:
Student Voice – Save a Heart Day
All parents and carers should have received a letter regarding the ‘Save a Heart Day’ on Friday 14 February. Air Ambulance will be coming into school for the day to offer parents and grandparents the opportunity to learn some basic lifesaving skills, experiencing how to do CPR and use a defibrillator. There are 4 sessions available throughout the day. If you or your child’s grandparent would like to attend, please complete the form for each person attending. Spaces are limited to 30 people per session. These sessions are being offered free of charge by Air Ambulance. If you would like more information, please email mwyse@noadswood.hants.sch.uk
Junior Parkrun
Over the last year a team have been working hard to create a new Junior parkrun situated at the Gang Warily Recreation & Community Center, Newlands Road, Blackfield. Please see below a message from the Junior Parkrun team:
We are delighted to announce that this weekend (19th January) we will be running our 9th event, we wanted to wait until we have found our feet before reaching out and advertising this fantastic event.
The high-level things to know about Junior parkrun are:
1. It is completely free to enter - you simply sign up for to obtain a barcode (https://www.parkrun.org.uk/register/)
2. Anyone from 4-14 years old can take part
3. There is no commitment - take part every week or once a year, all are welcome
4. Kids can earn free milestone wristbands for hitting half marathon, full marathon, ultra-marathon and 100 parkrun’s
5. Children can even volunteer instead of run/jog/walk - we find this really teaches them about the community spirit and supporting others
Awesome Alumni
We are always excited to hear about our brilliant alumni and to share this with our community. It is our intention to have a small weekly ‘awesome alumni’ feature. It's a brilliant way of celebrating the achievements and highlighting the different career pathways of our Noadswood family, as well as to inspire our current students. If you are a former student or know of one, we would love to hear of the contribution you have made in your working life or volunteering activities - please may we ask you to complete this form:
https://forms.office.com/e/FgaxvNHXGU
I want to end this week by thanking two groups of Noadswood students: firstly, it’s all the Year 8 students being nominated by their Year Leader for Hot Chocolate and treats with me for their excellent efforts, their kindness and their care for other people. We’ve moved on, for now, from a term’s worth of incredible Year 7s who smashed the transition into secondary school, something I really do not underestimate, into rewarding our Year 8s who continue to impress me every time I meet them as a year group and now in these small groups, too. Maybe you think your Year 8 or 9 child deserves a shout out and isn’t getting one? Please drop me a line at headteacher@noadswood.hants.sch.uk about how they are doing in school, outside of school or both, and I would love to see them for Hot Choc, or to reward them in another way they would love.
The second group I want to mention are our Year 11s as they work their way through their mocks. I have seen many of them nervous before exams, and anxious afterwards. I want them to know we understand the pressure they are under – if you are worried about anything regarding your Year 11 child, their provision, how they’re getting on, their worries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Mrs Way or Miss Fitzgerald, or me, again at headteacher@noadswood.hants.sch.uk
We welcome your thoughts, your celebration with us of your child’s successes and your concerns in order to make the best we can of everything for your children.
Best wishes for a good weekend when we get there,
Kathryn Marshall and the Noadswood Leadership Team