Events coming up
28th Year 11 History Trip -Longford Castle
28th Year 11 BTEC Art exam
29th Year 11 BTEC Art Exam
30th Year 11 BTEC Art Exam p1-p4
30th Prom Shop 3 - 4:30 in LRC
May
1st Junior Math’s Challenge
2nd Year 11 Dance exam Practical & Dance Exam Task 4
5th BANK HOLIDAY
6th INSET DAY
6th Year 11 Health and Social Care Exam
8th GCSE EXAMS START
Message from the Leadership Team
Hello all, and a warm welcome back to the Summer Term! We hope that the students had a restful break and that you all had a good Easter. It’s been good seeing everyone back in school since our busy day learning together on Tuesday. I wonder whether anyone looks sideways at us re our INSET days and how well we use our time? It’s actually always a packed day of professional challenge of different kinds. For me, and a group of us, we spent the day with Kit Messenger, whose work you can explore here: https://www.changingchances.co.uk/about-us/who-we-are/
We’ve been lucky to work with Kit throughout the past year or so, as a small group but also with the wider staff and across the local area, too, at our recent Waterside INSET Day. As it says on her website, it’s about understanding ‘what’s going on behind the scenes when children are struggling’, with the broadest definition of ‘struggling’. Then making sure we do all we can to ‘prep for best’ rather than needing to react to what ever happens – there will always be a lot to respond to in a large community of children and adults, but we can prep for that and tool ourselves up as well as possible. It was a great day’s learning that we enjoyed beginning to share at last night’s staff meeting, too.
This term, you’re aware already of the trial of uniform changes for the summer months. We will also be contacting students and parents/carers soon regarding our current mobile phone policy, and how we think it needs to change. Perhaps you’ve watched ‘Swiped’ that was aired on Channel 4? https://www.channel4.com/programmes/swiped-the-school-that-banned-smartphones
Or maybe you’ve watched the drama that’s caused many a headline and many a discussion and emotion, Adolescence, that aired on Netflix?
Perhaps you’ve seen the news headlines about sad stories of young people attempting pranks or dares with awful outcomes because of something they’ve seen on social media?
Or maybe you’re just aware of how much time your young people, and/or you spend on our phones, to the exclusion of other things, and how our attention is captured by them such a lot, and you wish it wasn’t that way. Even while acknowledging the incredible opportunities technology and indeed social media provide us.. It’s something we need to navigate with care.
Local Headteacher groups I attend and I have been visited by Clare Fernyhough, Founding Partner and Head of Schools Engagement at the parent and carer organisation, Smartphone Free Childhood. As a first step, would you take a look at the case they make very passionately?
https://smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk/the-problem
More then to follow from us as to what we believe, alongside our local neighbours at NFA, Applemore, Hounsdown and across the wider New Forest.
Your views will be very welcome, please, to headteacher@noadswood.hants.sch.uk - I would love to hear from you and have a chat in person or on the phone, too, if you would like.
Chicaning into student lovely news, a couple of bits of fantastic achievement that came my way over the break. Firstly, a big congratulations to Izzy and Eliza whose designs were selected for the Furzey Gardens summer Dinosaur trail.
I am looking forward so much to going along to seeing their work in the trail, and I love our partnership and success with Furzey Gardens.
We also heard that Hannah, in Year 10, has recently successfully trialled and is now an official member of the Wessex rowing squad for the Junior Inter-regional Rowing Championships on April 26th This represents the first of three top rowing events for Juniors in the country and a place on this team is to be celebrated widely. We are cheering you on from here, Hannah. Really well done and all our best this weekend.
Keep your young people’s highlights coming – we love to hear about their successes away from here as well as all they do in school.
Finally for this week, we know that this is such a big moment for our year 11 students, as their exams get closer. If you have any worries or concerns, please do make sure you reach out to your child's year team, tutor or individual class teachers. Or you can use info@noadswood.hants.sch.uk and we will direct queries in the right directions.
You’ll note that the Year 11 Health and Social Care exam is happening on our final INSET Day for this academic year on Tuesday 6th May; children participating in this exam should come into school for their exam and can leave after it has been completed.
Have a good weekend.
Best wishes,
Kathryn Marshall and the Noadswood Leadership Team
Summer Uniform Expectations
As we enter the summer term, we would like to take this opportunity to remind parents and carers of the expectations regarding our summer uniform pilot. It is important that all pupils continue to wear their uniform correctly and with pride, even during warmer weather.
Please note the following guidelines:
• Layers: Blazers or school jumpers must be worn as the first layer over shirts. Coats may only be worn over these items, not in place of them.
• Shirts: Shirts must be tucked in at all times and kept neat throughout the school day.
• Skirts: Skirts must be worn no shorter than fingertip length when arms are held straight by the sides, and ideally should be knee length.
• Buttons: Only the top two buttons of shirts may be undone – no more.
• PE Kit: Pupils will not be attending school in PE kit on particularly hot days this term because of the changes we are piloting. We therefore advise families to consider purchasing tailored school shorts in preparation for the warmer weather.
• Sun Protection: We strongly encourage pupils to apply sunscreen before arriving at school and to bring a sun hat for use during outdoor activities and break times, to ensure they remain safe in the sun.
We appreciate your continued support in helping us uphold our standards and keep pupils comfortable, safe, and prepared for the summer term.
Moped/Motorbike travel to school
We are pleased let you know that we are now able to offer the opportunity for our students who have passed the appropriate driving test to travel to school via moped or motor bike. To ensure we can support your son or daughter's safety and that of all other students, staff and visitors, we are implementing a student travelling to school via moped or motorbike policy which you can access via this link. This policy covers basic requirements such as licence, CBT certificate, evidence of tax, insurance and safety wear as well as expected behaviours and asks for both parental approval and student agreement. We are able to accommodate a limited number of spaces and will allocate on a first come first served basis. Any student interested in coming to school via these means should contact Deputy Headteacher Mr Matthew Hewitt in the first instance.
Awesome Alumni
I am retired now, but started my working life as an apprentice boatbuilding joiner, an interesting job for anyone like me who enjoys working with their hands. I was greatly influenced by my woodworking teacher Mr Fruin with whose encouragement enabled me to build a kayak for my year eleven examinations. I must also mention my Geography teacher Miss Crofts who inspired my interest in travel, which I have undertaken worldwide over the years. After leaving boatbuilding, the rest of my working life was spent in the oil industry, predominantly at the local Esso oil refinery. Finally I would just like to include a quote my Mum used to say to us “ your school life years are amongst the best years of your life” and though I probably didn’t agree totally at the time, I now think she was right. I have good memories of my time at Noadswood as do my three children who also spent their school life there.