A message from Ms Greenhalgh
It’s been quite a week! As you will know, Ofsted visited us on Tuesday and Wednesday this week to conduct a routine inspection. Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the ParentView survey, to all my colleagues who went the extra mile during the two-day inspection and to our wonderful students who spoke so confidently and maturely to the inspectors. As soon as we receive Ofsted’s formal report, we will share the outcome with you.
On Wednesday, we welcomed parents/carers of our Year 11 students into school for Parents’ Evening. It was great to see so many people in attendance especially as this is such an important year for this year group. Yesterday, our SEND team met with parents/carers to undertake SEND reviews, thanks to all those who attended.
Next week is the last week of term before we break for the Easter holidays. School will finish at the normal time on Friday 22 March and we will return on Monday 8 April.
Have a lovely weekend and we’ll see everyone back at school on Monday for an ‘A’ Week.
With best wishes,
Gemma Greenhalgh
Headteacher
What is my child learning at the moment?
Please see below to find out what your child has been learning about recently in order to have productive discussions about their education:
Conversation starter
Can you explain:
- How does interest on a loan or bank balance work?
- What happens to the cost of an item when you add 10%, then reduce by 10%?
- Why is a 50% reduction in price, followed by a 25% reduction in price not the same as a 75% reduction?
Conversation starters
- Design & Technology: Year 8 are continuing their studies of different cultures and their impact on design. You could ask your child about the cultures they have studied and what products they have made based on these influencers.
- Fine Art: Year 8 continue to develop their understanding of tone using different media and techniques. The Ai Wei Wei animal head studies show how hard students have worked to refine their observational recording skills. We will learn when, how and why this exciting contemporary and political artist created ‘Circle of Heads / Zodiac Animals’ in our final lesson as part of the Key Stage 3 ‘Art & Issues’ strand. You might find it interesting to watch the two YouTube clips set for homework over the next two weeks. The sculpture is also on view at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield if you are able to visit!
Conversation starters
- History: How was York affected by World War I and II? Where in our city was bombed? Why is it a misconception that mainland Britain was not bombed during WWI?
- Geography: Why is Russia interested in the Arctic?
- RE: Students are looking at the conditions inside a concentration camp such as Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Conversation starter
Year 10 are studying a variety of topics for their GCSE Paper 1. In Physics, students are learning about particles and states of matter – can they describe Archimedes’ famous Density Experiment? In Biology, students are studying infection and response – can they describe how a vaccine works? In Chemistry, students are studying chemical changes – can they recall the reactivity series?Year 11 – Faculty: English
Conversation starter
In English, we have been finishing the last of our literature content – and for most groups, that means Power and Conflict Poetry. Ask your child which is their favourite out of the fifteen they have studied. A bonus point if they can tell you what a coat hanger paragraph is!
We hope that you will find this information useful when talking to your child about their learning.
Additionally, you might want to take a look at the curriculum section of our website which has lots more information about what your child is, has, or will be learning over the academic year.
Young Carers Action Day
The theme of this year’s Young Carers Action Day is ‘Fair Futures for Young Carers’, focussing on building a more equal future for young carers and removing barriers that many of their peers do not face. Last week, the form time Culture Curriculum focussed on raising students’ awareness of what makes someone a Young Carer, the strengths that come with this role and additional support they may need from schools and their peers. On Thursday lunch time, we had an information stand where students could come to find out more about what we offer for young carers at Millthorpe.
Millthorpe welcomes author Frances Hardinge
We were delighted and very lucky to welcome award-winning children’s author Frances Hardinge into school this morning.
Frances spoke to all Year 7 students about her book “Unraveller”, signed books for all students in the library at break time, and completed a workshop with a Year 8 English class.
A huge thank you to Frances for coming to visit us, and to our five Book Club student helpers for looking after Frances during her visit.
Non-uniform day raises money for charity
Last Friday our Student Leaders organised a non-uniform day to raise money for the charity Equality Now in light of International Women’s Day. This charity campaigns for legal and systemic change to address violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world.
Thank you to everyone who has donated. So far we have raised a fantastic £858.95 – any further donations can be made via ParentPay until Sunday.
Year 10 boy’s football team reach York and District final
Congratulations to the Year 10 boys’ football team who have reached their second York and District Football final in two years. The boys secured a hard-fought victory against Joseph Rowntree School, beating them 3-2. Oscar Steel scored the all important winner with minutes left, and Freddie Hay pulled out a world class save to deny the opposition from equalising at the eleventh hour. The whole squad was amazing!
The boys play Fulford School in the final on Monday. We’re all hoping for more cup glory!
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award
A reminder that any completed application and medical forms should be returned to the school office by Monday 18 March please. The requested payment can be made on ParentPay. Copies of the documents can be found on our website or collected from the School Office.
Please note that Mr Curnow is no longer involved with the DofE scheme, so any enquiries should be sent to Alex Collins c/o admin@millthorpe.southbank.academy.
We are now working through previous participants’ records to bring them up to date, sign off completed records and issue certificates or identify any missing evidence that needs to be uploaded.
SEND Team update
Thank you to all those parents who attended both the Year 11 Parents’ Evening and our SEND Parents’ Evening. It was good to have a check in about how your child’s journey is going.
If you have any questions or concerns about SEND provision, please contact: send@millthorpe.southbank.academy in the first instance. There’s also lots of useful information on the school website and you can take a look at the support available for parents on the local offer website: Universal Offer Calendar.
Toulouse and beyond
All six schools within the South Bank Multi Academy Trust are coming together in the last week of term to raise money for OSCAR’s Paediatric Brain Tumour Charity. OSCAR’s exists to support and care for children facing brain tumours and their families, to raise awareness of children’s brain tumours and to fund new research to drive down diagnosis time, increase survival rate and improve children’s quality of life during and after treatment.
Cain North, ex Carr Junior and York High pupil was diagnosed with a brain tumour and has dealt with this through relentless positivity. Cain, who has benefited from OSCARs, now actively raises awareness and funds for the charity and has been working with Rod Sims, Headteacher at York High on various initiatives, the latest of which is ‘Toulouse and Beyond’.
To support the cause, next week KS3 students will be raising money through a rugby challenge to go to ‘Toulouse and Beyond’. York Knights play Toulouse on 31 March and will have to travel an enormous 1467 kilometres to play the game. To support the Knights and to raise money for OSCAR’s, the SBMAT schools will be running/walking, passing and kicking rugby balls 1500km. If all of the 3000 plus students in SBMAT can run, pass and kick a ball 500m we will achieve our target of “Toulouse and Beyond”.
Next week in assembly, KS3 students will watch a presentation by Phil Martinez, Charity Manager for Oscars and take part in a rugby triathlon challenge, which could include:
- Running/walking 100m carrying a rugby ball
- Passing a rugby ball 200 metres
- Kicking a rugby ball 200 metres
If you would like to donate, you can pledge money to OSCAR’s here.
Lost and found
We currently have a substantial amount of uniform in the School Office that has been lost and not reclaimed. Any items not collected by Friday 22 March will be passed on to our Eco Laundry or donated to charity.
Any items of clothing handed in to the School Office next week will be kept until after the Easter holidays.
York’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme
York’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme offers fun activities for keeping active, being creative and trying something new over the Easter, summer and winter school holidays.
Children and young people in receipt of benefits-related free school meals can receive up to eight sessions activities during the Easter holidays. Each day will include: a healthy meal selection ranging from sports, drama creative workshops, nature activities, much more.
For further information about what is available and how to book, please click here.
Job of the week – IT Technician
Do you enjoy working with technology? If so, an IT Technician might be the job for you. In this field of work, you maintain and monitor computer systems within an organisation. You practically keep the companies running! For more information on becoming an IT Technician you can watch this video.
Free activities over Easter
Please take a look below for information about free-to-access activities for young people which are taking place over the Easter holidays.
#WakeUpWednesday – Developing healthy sleep patterns
Quality sleep is paramount for wellbeing as it impacts our cognitive function, emotional balance and overall health. A World Health Organisation study highlighted that 44% of young people reported difficulty sleeping – potentially affecting their mood, concentration and immune system.
This helpful Wake Up Wednesday Guide offers expert tips for helping children to sleep more healthily.
Safeguarding
If you have significant concerns for the welfare of a child, in addition to being able to contact Mrs Cole, Mrs Cooper or Mr Beever during school hours by emailing safeguarding@millthorpe.southbank.academy, you may wish to make direct contact with the York MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub) on T: 01904 551900, option 3. They operate an out-of-hours service so concerns can be raised with them at any time.
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