Christmas dinner
A reminder that Christmas dinner (traditional turkey or a vegetarian option) will be served on Wednesday 8 December this year. Tickets, priced at £2.40, are still available via ParentPay.
Children who are eligible for free school meals will not have to pay but will still need a ticket so that we know whether they would like the meat or vegetarian option. Please log in to ParentPay in the normal way to make your choice(s).
Your child’s form tutor will distribute tickets to students on the day.
Millthorpe Christmas Charity Appeal
Following on from Ms Greenhalgh’s assembly this week, our Student Leaders are delighted to launch this year’s Christmas Charity Appeal. We are really excited to be able to look out for the most vulnerable in our community this Christmas by supporting a number of local charities. Every year we are blown away by the number of donations from students and their families and we cannot wait to see them all under the tree again this year.
Fobs
Please can all students remember to bring their fobs when using the canteen. The number of students turning up without them has crept up recently, which can cause problems at the tills. If a student has permanently lost their fob, they can buy a replacement at the till but there is a charge (70p), so we encourage everyone to look after them as carefully as possible.
North Yorkshire Schools Cross Country Championships
Experienced, proficient runners are invited to represent York in the North Yorkshire Schools XC Championships on Saturday 15 January in Catterick.
Further information is available here. Anyone interested should speak to Mr Randall, Head of PE in the first instance.
Wake Up Wednesday – A Parent Guide to Age Inappropriate Content
We strongly encourage all parents and carers to view this week’s #WakeUpWednesday from National Online Safety. Unfortunately, we are aware of some of our students accessing inappropriate content online and this guide will help you to reduce the risk of it happening, and how to talk it through with your child(ren) and reduce the risk of it happening again. According to research, one in seven teenagers report viewing something online that they later wish they hadn’t as a daily occurrence. You will be aware that students are not permitted to use their mobile phones during the school day, and we have stringent filters in place on our school ICT system, so we hope that this guide will help you to manage this issue outside of school.
You may be interested to learn that a survey of over 6,000 school teachers across the UK undertaken this week by TeacherTapp returned 75% stating that they “strongly disagreed” or “disagreed” that “the benefits of allowing children aged 13-17 to use social media outweigh the downsides for them”, and 92% of those surveyed “strongly agreeing” or “agreeing” that they would “like to see the government introduce greater regulation of social media amongst children.”
We know that many students are keen to enjoy social media, but we are concerned about the impact that this may have on them, and it is clear that we are not alone in thinking this. Your support is gratefully appreciated.
Year 11 Taster Days
Just a reminder that the deadline is fast approaching for Year 11 students to apply for the York College taster days on Tuesday 11 and Thursday 13 January 2022. The deadline is Monday 6 December.
Apprenticeship Taster Day
City of York Council are hosting an Apprenticeship Taster Day on 13 January 2022 – there are still places available with the following employers: Bang Hair, Citywide Health, CYC Business, CYC Smart Transport Project Management, Doubletree by Hilton, FERA Science, Garbutt & Elliott, Labcore, Indigo Greens, Little Green Rascals, Portakabin and Simpson.
Applications should be emailed to york.apprenticeships@york.gov.uk by Monday 6 December.
Further information can be found here.
Rail safety
We have again been contacted by Network Rail to raise concerns about young people trespassing on the railway in our local area. There is no suggestion that any Millthorpe students are directly involved in this, but we would be grateful if you could speak to your child(ren) about the dangers of trespassing on the railway. We have shared these before, but there are videos from Network Rail that you can watch with your child(ren) if this would be helpful. Please watch the videos in advance and select the one that you feel is most appropriate for your child(ren). Thank you in anticipation of your support.
https://learnliveuk.com/network-rail-primary-school-safety-talk/
https://learnliveuk.com/i-am-train-safe/Secondary school version: Age 11-16 (revised version with subtitles)
https://learnliveuk.com/network-rail-secondary-school-safety-talk/
https://learnliveuk.com/i-am-train-safe/
Family Matters courses
The short courses offered by Family Matters York give parents the opportunity to meet other parents and find out that they are not alone; to think about what they are doing with their children; and, in the light of the course material and ideas from other parents, decide if they want to make any changes.
The following courses, some online and some in person, are starting in the New Year:
- Handling Anger in the Family
- Time Out for Parents – the Teenage Years
- Time Out for Parents – Children with Additional Needs
- Time Out for Dads
;
