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Huxlow Science College Thursday 14th January 2021

Dear parents/carers and students,

Welcome to the first edition of our exciting newsletter, an opportunity to share with you important information and updates, as well as celebrating student learning and championing initiatives that have been launched since we returned from the Christmas break.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic our vision has remained strong and behind the scenes staff are working tirelessly to ensure each and every one of our students is 'Safe', 'Happy' and 'Successful', despite the obvious challenges a lockdown brings. Our priority, as always, is the wellbeing of all our students as well as providing them with all the necessary resources to learn in a supportive fashion.

Students have demonstrated extraordinary resilience as they have tackled remote learning this term and we should be incredibly proud of their efforts.

Please enjoy our newsletter and thank you to each and every one of you for your support as we navigate through the coming weeks.

Best wishes

Kim Isaksen

Acting Head teacher

Free School Meals Information

For those families entitled to Free School Meals we have sent vouchers via email. Any queries please contact head@huxlow.northants-ecl.gov.uk

Critical Worker Provision

A gentle reminder that government guidance sets out that parents and carers who are critical workers should keep their children at home if they can. Schools are being encouraged to keep their critical worker provision numbers as low as possible in order to minimise the mixing of individuals. Thank you for your support with this.

TENC Newsletter

Remote Learning

Students have been following their timetables remotely on Teams this week and so far we have been really impressed with their attendance and engagement. Thank you for all your support with this. We appreciate that this is a very difficult time for our students and their families, but we want to ensure that students keep on top of their learning and follow a routine as they would in school.

The button below links to a copy of a letter that was sent home last week. This has a reminder of the guidelines.

Below is a link with further information on accessing Teams.

The link below provides information on how to access and submit assignments.

If you need further support, please contact your child's form tutor or head of year.

Remote learning has never been more fun!!!

Join all your lessons and you can receive up to 10 points per subject area per week. All these points accumulated will materialise into vouchers and prizes.

What should you do to win these points ?

Follow our Attitude For Learning Guide to win the most amount of points…

  1. Be on time to lessons and make sure you greet your teacher.
  2. Complete assignments or any work set on time.
  3. Participate in your lessons when invited to.
  4. Communicate efficiently and promptly with your teachers via Team chat or emails.
Click on picture to view.

We will share weekly students of the week. So good luck everyone !

Psychology

It has been so good to see students interacting virtually and getting back into the swing of online lessons. Well done to:

  • Y9 - we have been looking at Social Influence and obedience, trialling Teams breakout rooms and interactive 'Forms' exam questions!
  • Year 10 - starting the new topic of language thought and communication.
  • Year 11 -  have been amazing this week with their enthusiasm for learning! Revision has continued with the introduction of a new retrieval booklet at the start of each lesson and a new homework booklet! Well done team!
  • Year 12 -learning about behaviourism and starting a self-report project.
  • Year 13 - for showing dedication to revision.

What a brilliant start to remote learning, keep up the hard work, we are all so proud of you! Mrs Isaksen, Miss Hayes and Miss Dewdney

English

Music

Mrs Runnells wants to give a big shout out to all of the Year 7 and Year 8 students who have worked really well in their Music lessons this week, coping with finding audio clips to listen to and searching for video clips on line, in the absence of being able to do practical activities. Keep up the great work all of you!

Science

Year 7 students were asked to create a poster to describe objects found in the universe.

Year 8 students were challenged with creating their own model to show the structure of the Earth. Deesha's model shows the detail of the crust and layers very well. She also used colour to represent the heat in the core.

Mrs Woodward would like to give a shout out to her 10S3 Class. They have been engaged throughout and have been working hard on the tasks and learning to hand them in.

Drama

Year 7 have been creating their own Shakespeare inspired insults - here are the top 4!

  • “Thou art an unpolished, foul-spoken varlet.”
  • “Thy is revolted by thee foul spoken tickle brain”
  • “Your venomous teeth stick out of your mouth like a snakes”
  • “Thou art a simpering stretched-mouth shrimp”

Year 9 undertook their first ever Teams performance! They created and performed their own Villainous monologues. They were fantastic!

Design Technology

Design Technology

We are very impressed with the work that has been shared with us - we hope that you are enjoying your remote lessons.

PE

We are very proud that 4 Huxlow girls have accepted onto a Countywide Leadership Academy. The programme has 47 applicants in total (10 from Huxlow) so it is a great achievement to be accepted!

They will do a series of remote workshops with an aim to organise and run their own leadership event for primary age students (COVID dependent)

Huxlow Alumni

Luke Dyks, an ex Huxlow student presented to 6th form students on Thursday 7th January.

He spoke about his journey from the doors of Huxlow to his dream job at CERN. He left TENC to study Theorectical Physics at the University of Manchester, where he met his idol, Brian Cox. Following this, he started a PHD at Oxford which has taken him to live in Spain and work in Switzerland at the CERN collider. He is carrying out ground breaking work to support cancer treatment.

His inspiring talk reiterated the need to experience new things and socialise when lockdown is over. He shared images of his new life in France and beamed with excitement when describing the experiences he has had. He candidly spoke about making mistakes and how they can spur one to learn, change and achieve great things.

Finally adding that being unique is a gift that we should all keep believing in. There are over 7.8 billion people on Earth and is important that we all make our own pathways to success.

Thank you Luke!

Safeguarding

Parents, please use the button below to access advice from the NSPCC on how to keep your child safe online. At this time, they are particularly vulnerable and exposed to dangers online. The NSPCC give guidance and advice to parents on a number of online safety issues from setting up parental controls, sexting, online games and video apps to name but a few. They can help parents to understand the risks and keep children safe.

Wellbeing

Follow our new Twitter page @huxlowcares for Wellbeing support for students, staff, parents and carers.

Whether you want to know more about how you are feeling, get information about a mental health condition or know what support is available to you, the Young Minds guides can help. There is also a section for parents.

LOCKDOWN LEAGUE

Northamptonshire Sport have created a LOCKDOWN LEAGUE and as we at Huxlow are always up for a challenge - we have entered!

The Lockdown League is a 5 week challenge between secondary school across Northants, where they compete against each other to see which has the most active pupils as judged by the number of active minutes logged during week long fixtures

Active minutes can be any form of exercise - run, bike, jog, yoga, walk, playing sport, Joe Wicks workouts etc. The challenge encourages students to be active and to help break up the amount of screen time and improve their physical condition.

So, let's show the county that Huxlow is the best - get active, log your minutes on the link below and watch this space for the results!

COVID 19

The government has asked schools to arrange to start onsite COVID-19 testing. The testing will be conducted in school as follows:

  • Staff will be tested on a weekly basis.
  • Students will be offered testing when they return to school.
  • Students identified as being in close contact with someone who has received a positive COVID test will be offered 7 days of testing as an alternative to being sent home to self isolate.

We are in the process of creating our testing area and plan to undertake training next week.

The purpose of the tests is to identify asymptomatic staff and students, as these people can spread the virus. We are fully supportive of this approach and will update you shortly with more information about start dates.

See below for the government press release

Cancellation of GCSEs, AS and A levels for 2021

Last week, Gavin Williamson confirmed the cancellation of GCSEs, AS and A levels for 2021. Grades will be awarded by teacher assessment. There will be no algorithm applied to grades.

This announcement has come much earlier in the academic year than last time, with students less than halfway through their examination year. It is important that all students continue to work hard, and there will be ongoing assessments for Y11 and Y13 over the next few months to build an evidence base for grades.

There has also been confirmation that the exams scheduled for January will go ahead – as a centre we will offer the choice to all students due to sit these exams the opportunity to take them as normal. Affected students and their parents/carers have been contacted about this already.

We will keep you updated when we hear how teachers should award grades and what evidence will be used, the grades should be a fair reflection of the most likely outcome had exams been taken in the summer and that no students are disadvantaged by this process.

Exam Year Groups - please continue to focus on all content.

There will be a form of assessment this year – we are yet to hear about the details. You need to continue to revise for all of your exam work.

Find a suitable study space

Before you begin, you need to separate your study life from your home life. Designate a space in your home to be your study area and only go there to study. Don’t be tempted to just lie on your bed with your laptop – lines between studying and relaxing can become blurred this way, which makes self-motivation even harder! Your study area should be quiet, with good light and a strong WiFi connection. Oh, and make sure you have a good chair.

Get dressed

This might seem like a small thing but it can make a world of difference. Something as simple as getting dressed changes your whole mindset and approach to the day. You wouldn't come to College in your pyjamas (well, if you have, we haven’t noticed!) so get yourself ready for the day before attacking your online study.

Have the right equipment

Just as you would in a classroom setting, you will need to attend your online lessons readily prepared with the right resources and equipment. A good internet connection is vital and it’s a good idea to log in to your online platform before the start of the lesson, so that you know that everything is working. Have a notebook handy to write down anything you don’t understand or questions to ask the teacher later.

Maintain structure

This is a really important one; without structure to your day procrastination can reign, so make a plan for each day and stick to it. You will still have a timetable of your online lessons, so schedule in self study around those sessions. Start at the same time every day and finish at the same time every day, with breaks in between.

Contribute in class

One of the hardest aspects to replicate in online learning is the interaction in a physical class. Your teacher will try to foster the same enthusiastic conversations and debates you would have in class but may feel discouraged if faced with radio silence. Ask that question; share that viewpoint; counter that argument; keep the interaction going!

Look after yourself

Lastly, but most importantly, take care of yourself. Stay hydrated, eat healthily, get some exercise, and look after your mental health. Find time for something that relaxes you and makes you happy and try not to absorb too much of the current headlines – this can be so draining.

13.01.2021 - DfE update: No BTEC external assessments to take place in February or March this year

For schools and colleges taking BTEC qualifications, this means that external assessments (exams) for BTEC Level 2 Tech Awards, Firsts, Technicals and Level 3 Nationals will not go ahead in February or March. The exam board will put arrangements in place for students who are now unable to take their external assessments to ensure they are not disadvantaged. So, those expecting to complete their qualification this year will be able to progress normally.

Credits:

Created with images by freephotocc - "pencils clips colour pencils" • geralt - "board up-to-date updates" • geralt - "learn student laptop" • ElisaRiva - "head brain thoughts" • Unknown - "Music Instruments Blue Background · Free photo on Pixabay" • Libracesp - "curtain theatre las vegas" • sasint - "achieve woman girl" • Unknown - "School Black Green May Refer · Free image on Pixabay" • Unknown - "Locker room 1080P, 2K, 4K, 5K HD wallpapers free download ..." • chezbeate - "heart wood love" • Alexas_Fotos - "call at home stay" • F1Digitals - "man men hand" • Skitterphoto - "computer laptop work place" • Skitterphoto - "coat hangers fashion clothes" • JessBaileyDesign - "technology white space keyboard" • Unknown - "shutting, ringing, Woman, Alarm Clock, Bed, alarm, bedroom ..." • www_slon_pics - "finger forefinger gesture" • geralt - "self care umbrella protection"