Schoolboy Q NEWSLETTER 115 January 2015 SNOW CLOSURES – REPEAT NOTICE We try very hard not to close the school. However, there are times when road conditions are so difficult that to open is to put children and staff at risk. If you are in ANY doubt please do not ring the school. The best way to check if school is closed is to: 1. Check the Local Authority school closure webpage: rochdale.gov.uk/schools_and_education/school_closures.aspx 2. Check the school website falingepark 3. Check the school Facebook page 4. Subscribe to the school’s Twitter feed 5. Listen to local radio stations who are told by RMBC if any schools need to close School activities after core time (including detentions) are unlikely to take place in the event of severe weather. UNIFORM Can we remind our families that the school uniform policy is: • Shoes should be plain black, flat and waterproof • There should be no makeup • The only jewellery should be a single pair of small ‘stud’ earrings • There should be no visible piercings other than the above. Such piercings should be removed before arriving at school. If that is not possible the child should be provided with a plaster to cover it by the family • Skirts should be of a suitable length • Hair colouring should be natural. A single line in the hair can be defined as a parting. More than one straight line is not acceptable PAYING MONEY TO THE SCHOOL ONLINE IS SIMPLE AND EASY You can now make payments online to the school for things like dinner money and school trips. Paying for school items online is quicker and easier for you, safer for children and more efficient for the school. The system is called School Gateway – and it’s available for you to use now. 1. Go to schoolgateway/ 2. When you visit the School Gateway website for the first time, please select ‘New User’ and enter your email address and mobile telephone number you have registered with the school 3. The system will send a PIN code to your phone; please enter this PIN code and your account will be activated for you As soon as you’ve got the system set-up, you’ll be able to pay money to the school online rather than send cash or cheques. If you’ve recently changed your email address or mobile telephone number, please let us know so we can update our records. FREE – MICROSOFT OFFICE – Repeat Notice Got computers at home? Don’t forget to claim the latest version of Microsoft Office for free (software usually costs approximately £400). This offer entitles our students and family members to benefit at no cost, for the full package containing; Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, Access and OneNote. For more information and the installation instructions, please visit our school website and enter ‘Microsoft Office’ into the search box at the top. This will direct you to the page and installation guide. E-SAFETY Across school we work hard to educate our students about the need for responsible and safe behaviour when using technology; games consoles, mobiles, computers and the internet. In February we will again take part in the annual Safer Internet Day campaign – a global event. As young people’s usage and access to devices is ever increasing we would like you to support our work by taking an interest in how and what your child/ren use technology for, and in sharing the responsibility for promoting safe practices and reinforcing positive use. If you want to find out more about E-Safety why not take a look on our school website and visit some of the sites we’ve linked? There’s lots of useful information and advice for parents, plus plenty of engaging and age appropriate information for children. VIRTUAL LEARNING This year we have introduced our new cloud-based Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to students. They are now able to store work, collaborate, submit assignments and receive feedback in a cloud-based environment, both within or away from school, on any internet ready device. We will continue to develop this resource throughout the year. For your information, they can access the VLE here: rsc.falingepark/ or via the link(s) on the home page of our school website. All students have been given unique VLE logon details. NSPCC’S NUMBER DAY We would like to take this opportunity to thank all pupils and parents who supported the NSPCC’s Numbers Day. The school raised £868.06 for the NSPCC. This was achieved by the students completing a fun and thought provoking maths quiz during their maths lessons. THE MAYOR OF ROCHDALE’S CHARITY FASHION SHOW Madam Mayor will be holding a Charity Fashion Show on Thursday 5th March 2015 in The Great Hall at Rochdale Town Hall. Tickets cost £5.00 per person which includes a drink on arrival. All profits raised will be donated to local charities including Springhill Hospice, Heywood Youth Link and Rochdale Children’s Moorland Home. Please support this worthy cause if you can. To purchase tickets and/or for further information please contact: The Mayor’s Office: 01706 924773 Mrs Lauren Sullivan: 07956543077 [email protected] ARTS AWARD EXPO 2 We are delighted to present our second Arts Award Expo on Friday 30th of January 2015 from 3.30pm until 4.45pm in the Heart Space. This will be an exciting and varied showcase for our Year 9 and 10 Drama and Music students to present their Drama and Music work and open up their Arts Award Portfolios for public view. Families and friends are welcome to attend and there is free entry to the showcase. Refreshments will be served. For more details, please contact Mr De Courcey. The expo will feature engaging practical work and visual display. We look forward to seeing you at the event! ARTS MARK GOLD Tuesday 16th of December 2014 saw us celebrate the official notification of our Arts Mark Gold re-designation again. This is our third reinstatement of this prestigious accolade and we are delighted with the outcome. Staff and students have together achieved the award which recognises quality provision and practices across all the arts in schools. Our celebration took the form of a lunchtime party in G3 with activities and free food. Well done to all those who helped us to achieve this award yet again! THE ODYSSEY April sees the Drama Department stage a special adaptation of ‘The Odyssey’ by Homer. The epic Greek poem is transformed for the stage into a futuristic journey featuring adventurers, witches, strange creatures and epic battles. Our production will utilise digital technologies and a range of stage crafts to fully immerse the audience and we hope you can join us. Tickets for the show go on sale in January and are available directly from school or the CEPA Office, priced £3.00 (no concessions). Seating is limited and available in advance only. CLUBS AND WORKSHOPS There are plenty of Arts clubs and workshops for learners to join and engage in during the winter months, including Arts Award Club on Fridays, Drama Club on Tuesdays and Song Writing Clubs on Fridays. Company Class regularly takes place every Thursday and Boys Dance Club takes place on Mondays after school. There is also a plethora of music clubs and bands and Arts drop-in sessions three times a week. CREATIVE AND LITERACY LEARNING ROCHDALE PIONEERS MUSEUM VISITS Four Creative and Literacy Learning (CALL) classes are currently paying a visit to the Rochdale Pioneers Museum on Toad Lane, Rochdale as part of the teaching of our new CALL curriculum. The sessions are based on local individuals who changed our society and are led by the museum Education Officer. Many thanks to all the students and staff involved in the four day visits. PROJECT 1915 DEVELOPMENTS Ms Wystawnoha has been busy leading a variety of activities with local primary schools in preparation for our huge Project 1915 showcase later in the year. The project explores the changes and inventions taking place in 1915 beyond the First World War and the learners involved in the project look to be having fun and producing truly innovative pieces of work. Further details of the showcase will be announced late in the Spring term. AND FINALLY …. As the years have gone on there has been increased speculation about when I would retire. I realise that I have taught quite a few parents so this was inevitable. I have notified the Governors of my intention to retire at the end of this academic year, August 2015. I have every faith that they will find somebody to replace me who will continue to drive the school forward and care about the community we service. I will write further later in the year when my replacement has been appointed. Thank you for your support over the years. DATES FOR YOUR DIARY DATE TIME EVENT Tuesday 20th January 2015 6.15pm PTA Meeting Wednesday 21st January 2015 5.30pm Year 11 Prom Fayre Wednesday 11th February 2015 3.15pm Year 11 Parents Evening R D LONSDALE Headteacher Newsletter 115 - January 2015
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 07:30:20 +0000
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