A message from Ms Greenhalgh
Well, another half term under our belts! I have to give another mention to our Year 11 students this week who have been real troopers as they continue on with their GCSE exams. It was great to see some of them at their final Karaoke Club at Millthorpe at lunchtime today, where they let their hair down and belted out “We are the Champions!” to rapturous applause!
Keep up the hard work over the half-term break Year 11s, but make sure you have some downtime too to recharge your batteries.
A reminder that after the break, students in Years 8, 9 will be taking their end of year assessments and Year 10s will be sitting their PPEs. Dates are as follows:
- Year 8: 3 – 7 June
- Year 9: 10 – 14 June
- Year 10 PPEs: 10 – 24 June
We understand that exams can cause some students to worry excessively so if you or your child need some support, please speak to their form tutor or a member of their year team. You can also visit our Padlet on our website where there’s a host of resources and support.
We’re already looking forward to next half term which brings the excitement and fun of Sports Day, Activities Week, a residential to Carlton Lodge for our Year 9s and our celebratory Awards Evening. Lots to pack in!
I hope everyone has a lovely half-term break and that the sun makes an appearance for at least some of the week! We reopen on Monday 3 June with 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
Students have been preparing for, and completing, their final Standardised Assessment Piece of the year. The topics covered in this assessment were Energy, Reproduction and Rocks. Colleagues will be marking these and providing feedback after the half-term break before we embark on our Women in Science topic.
Conversation starter
In their Conflict Unit, students have finished their study of war poetry, and are moving on to the exploration of a very different kind of conflict – that of family relationships, as depicted in Shakespeare’s great tragedy, King Lear. Year 8 are lucky to get a taste of both King Lear and Hamlet this year – a fantastic introduction to two of Shakespeare’s most powerful works. Your children will be getting targeted revision homework over half term in preparation for their exam in the first week back. Their job is to memorise facts about WWI poet Wilfred Owen, life in the trenches, and some key words we use when analysing poetry. Any encouragement from home in helping them learn this information would be wonderful!
Conversation starter
- Drama: Students are coming to the end of their ‘Noughts and Crosses’ unit and preparing for both their theory written assessment and practical performance assessment of a scene from the play – we can’t wait to see what they can do!
- PE: Summer sports are our focus. Students will be doing either athletics, cricket or rounders over the next few weeks.
- Music: Film Music: How is music created for film and what effect can it have on screen?
Year 10 – Faculty: Global
Conversation starter
- Computing: We are practising Paper 1 questions in preparation for the PPE. This usually involves a period of revision/recap on a topic followed by doing past paper questions.
- German: We are talking about different types of holidays and travel destinations.
- French: We are practising the skills of listening, reading and writing and revising all of our topics from this year in preparation for the PPEs.
Year 11 – Faculty: Maths
Conversation starter
Does your child have a working calculator that they know how to use confidently? Please encourage them to practise using their own calculator for fractions, powers and roots so that they can input the calculation, then round their answers.
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.
PE kit update
We are excited to share our plans to revamp our PE kit following a consultation with students for our incoming Year 7 students starting in September 2024. As current families of our students in Years 7-10 this is for information only and there is no need to replace any part of your PE kit unless you wish to. In addition to this updated kit being one that the students have chosen, it will also be less expensive for families.
You can read Mrs Armitage’s letter to parents/carers here, which explains more about the consultation and the outcomes.
The updated PE kit
Working with our current supplier, Keal Teamwear, the updated PE kit can be seen below, with new items in bold:
- Navy t-shirt or polo top with Millthorpe logo (this replaces the white t-shirt/polo)
- Either a navy hoodie with Millthorpe logo (this replaces the Millthorpe fleece) or a Millthorpe reversible rugby top
- Plain navy shorts or skort
- White or navy sports socks
- Shin pads
Optional Items
- Plain navy tracksuit bottoms
- Black leggings: Students can buy Millthorpe leggings or wear plain black sports leggings.
York and District Athletics competition
We were delighted that so many Year 7 and 8 students wanted to sign up to our athletics team for the first round of the City Championships!
The PE staff always find it really difficult when we have so many enthusiastic athletes but there are only two places on the team for each event due to the rules of the competition. Miss Watts, who oversaw the girls’ trials, commented on how pleased she was that so many students had come out in what can best be described as soggy conditions.
A huge thank you to everyone who came to try out and well done to those who were selected for the team and as reserves. The competition takes place at Millthorpe after school on Thursday 6 June. It usually finishes around 6.00pm with the relays, although students are allowed to go once they have completed their event.
Good luck to everyone taking part!
York Pride – Saturday 1 June 2024
Millthorpe has a long and indeed proud tradition of supporting York Pride, which celebrates diversity and the LGBT+ community. Alongside other schools and organisations from across the city, staff will be marching with a Millthorpe banner to the event site on the Knavesmire. Students and their families are very welcome to join us or show their support along the route. We will be meeting at Lendal (outside the old post office building) from 11.30am; the march starts at 12.00pm and is expected to reach the Knavesmire at about 1.00pm.
More details and the route can be found on the York Pride website.
Please note that any students attending do so in an individual capacity and the school can’t take any responsibility for them. We recommend that everyone is suitably equipped with decent footwear, weather-appropriate clothing and snacks and drinks to keep them going.
Job of the week – Retail Buyer
Who doesn’t like a good shop? In a retail buyer role, you’d do this but on a BIG scale. You’d be responsible for sourcing and buying the products that end up on our shelves, in stores around the country. It’s all about taste, quality and value for money in this job.
For more information on becoming a Outdoor Pursuits Manager, you can watch this video.
York College apprenticeship vacancies
York College is currently advertising a number of apprenticeship vacancies which can be seen on the attached pdf. Each vacancy has a hyperlink to the Apprenticeship Service website, where you will find full job details and where you can submit your application.
Also attached are Hair & Beauty and Construction vacancies, which require an email or phone call directly to the employer.
A note on closing dates: vacancies often close earlier than the stated date, so if you are interested please make sure you apply as soon as you can.
You can also read the attached guidance on how to write a strong application to ensure the best chance of success.
Getting Sorted event at York College
York College is holding two Getting Sorted events aimed at current Year 11s who are planning to start York College in September who may feel worried about new environments or situations. The events will be held on Wednesday 31 July and Wednesday 14 August.
Further information can be found here.
Make Space for Girls Festival
The Make Space for Girls Festival is a month-long programme of over 30 FREE events aimed at 10-18 year olds. It includes sports and exercise, arts and crafts, health and wellbeing, the performing arts, social awareness events and more. The festival is about creating a welcoming park for teenage girls and reducing the drop off of park use as girls enter their teens. The Festival encourages girls into the public space trying new things, meeting new people and having fun.
#WakeUpWednesday – Encouraging Healthy Friendships
A key component of our Personal Development curriculum is helping young people to have healthy relationships. This week’s guide from National Online Safety compliments these lessons and serves as a handy aide memoire for parents and carers to supplement what the children have learned in school. Please take a look.
Hollywood Bowl half term offers
Hollywood Bowl and Puttstars York are offering an early bird 50% off code for sessions booked between 9:00-11:00am on 25 May to 2 June. Just use the code AMAYZING50 when checking out to receive 50% off your total booking. Slots are available on a first come first served basis so they advise to book early to avoid disappointment.
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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