A message from Mrs Rothenburg
What a fantastic week we’ve had to round off the term!
This week, Matilda lit up the stage, with the cast delivering outstanding performances that truly brought the house down. Thank you to Mrs Sladen and the whole team behind the show, to our talented, hardworking students who dedicated hours to rehearsals and to all of you who came to see the show. We hope you enjoyed it! Don’t miss tomorrow’s edition of the Millthorpe Messenger, where you’ll find some fantastic photos of the cast.
On Monday we welcomed primary pupils from Scarcroft, Knavesmire and Dringhouses Primary Schools who joined us to watch the dress rehearsal of Matilda. Then on Tuesday, Year 5 pupils from fellow Trust schools, Scarcroft and Knavesmire, came into school to take part in our ‘Get set for the holidays!’ event. This kicked off our transition activities for primary pupils who will be moving to Millthorpe in a couple of years and gave the children the opportunity to explore the creative areas of Food and Nutrition, Product Design and Art. It was an absolute pleasure to host them, and everyone had a great time!
Wednesday was wonderfully festive as students and staff enjoyed a delicious Christmas lunch while being serenaded with festive songs and music performed by our talented students. It was lovely to see so many students taking part in Christmas Jumper Day earlier this week too, raising money for Save the Children. Thank you all for your donations.
As a recognition of all their hard work this term and as a little treat before they head into their PPEs in January, our Year 11s enjoyed some festive fun during period 5 on Wednesday.
Congratulations to the students who came along to meet me at Principal’s Breakfast this week, including: Noah, Lexie, Elena, Luke, Jasmine, George, Esther and Theo.
Finally, I’d like to say a huge thank you to all of you for your support over the last term, for your generosity towards our various charity initiatives, but also for supporting your children through their school days. We know there can be a lot to juggle with homework, uniform, PE kits, school fixtures, rehearsals, clubs, trips and more, so thank you!
I hope you all have a happy, restful Christmas break. Please do have a look at the ‘Merry Christmas’ video below from Excel Learning Trust’s staff and students – you may see some familiar faces in there!
I look forward to welcoming students back in the New Year. School reopens on Monday 6 January 2025, with a ‘B’ Week.
With best wishes,
Kavina Rothenburg
Acting Principal
What is my child learning at the moment?
Please see below to find out what your child has been learning this week in order to have productive discussions about their education:
Year 7 – Faculty: Creative
Conversation starters
- Design & Technology: Students are now well into Timeblock 2 and studying Sustainable Design & Manufacture through Graphics, Textiles, Food Preparation & Nutrition and Product Design. Please ask your child about what they are designing and making. They have multiple choice quizzes for homework (Google Forms) on Google Classroom and can also show you the work booklets we use to help explain their project to you.
- Art: After creating a collograph print to complete the Unit 1 – Human Faces project, Year 7 have started Unit 2a – World Culture Masks (or will in January). The final outcome will be to design and create a clay mask inspired by African masks. Students will research facts, and draw a range of masks on their A3 presentation page before designing their own mask. The importance and function in historical and contemporary African cultures will be considered. Looking at African masks with your child would be a good way to support their learning. Think about: who made it; where and when was it made; what is it made from; and how, why was it made/how was it used?
Year 8 – Faculty: English
Conversation starters
Year 8 will be beginning work on their new unit of work, Survival, a really exciting scheme that covers non-fiction tales of adventurous survival – from shipwreck to bear attack – in addition to a detailed fictional exploration of survival as an emotional idea, as depicted in the wonderful modern novel, October, October. We can’t wait to get going with this!
Year 9 – Faculty: Maths
Conversation starters
This week we have begun a new topic on algebraic expressions. Can you explain using diagrams, counters and letters why 3(x + 5) is equivalent to 3x+15, or why 3x and 5x are like terms, but 3x and 5y are not?
Year 10 – Faculty: Science
Conversation starters
- Triple Science students are continuing their studies of Biology Unit 2: Organisation, Chemistry Unit 2: Bonding Structure and the Properties of Matter and Physics Unit 2: Electricity. Can they tell you about the heart and its main blood vessels? Can they tell you the difference between ionic and covalent bonding? Can they draw circuit symbols and tell you the difference between series and parallel circuits? Triple Science students will complete Standard Assessment Pieces (SAPs) on these topics week commencing 6 January.
- Combined Science students completed their Key Assessed Pieces (KAP) for Biology Unit 2: Organisation, Chemistry Unit 2: Structure and Bonding and Properties of Matter and Physics Unit 2: Electricity. You could ask them how many marks they got and more importantly their areas for improvement? Students will be moving on to study Biology Unit 3: Infection and Response, Chemistry Unit 3: Quantitative Chemistry and Physics Unit 3: Particle Model of Matter.
- All Year 10 Science lessons for both Triple and Combined Science are uploaded to the respective Google classrooms.
Year 11 – Faculty: Global
Conversation starters
- Computing: We have been revising for a Paper 2 past paper test which Year 11 have done this week and conducted a question level analysis on the test.
- French: Students are preparing for their upcoming PPEs. We have been revising exam skills and practicing exam questions. Can they tell you what they need to do to prepare for their exams in January?
- German: Students are preparing for their upcoming PPEs. They have been focussing on speaking skills. Can they tell you what they need to do to prepare for their exams in January?
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 will be learning over the academic year.
Key Stage 4 Options Process
In January, our Year 9 students will begin the Key Stage 4 Options Process, during which they will make decisions about which subjects they would like to study in Years 10 and 11.
Full information, including a detailed Options Brochure, will be distributed in January, but the following key dates may be useful:
- Monday 13 January: Options Assembly Week starts with launch to students
- Wednesday 22 January: Options Evening 4.30pm-7.00pm
- Thursday 23 January: Confirmation of choices ‘goes live’ via online platform
- Monday 10 February: Deadline for all options forms / Options process closes
- Summer term: Letter home to confirm choices
Year 11 Pre Public Exams (PPEs)
A reminder that in preparation for their GCSE exams next summer, Year 11 students will sit their PPEs from 7-31 January 2025. Mrs Armitage’s letter about the PPEs can be found here and you can also view the PPE timetable here.
Year 11 students will watch a presentation in Form Time next week to help them with revision and creating a revision timetable ahead of their PPEs. So that you are aware of the information that will be shared with them, you can see the presentation here.
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award 2025
Last week we held a DofE Information Evening – please click here to view the presentation and key dates for participating students in Year 9 and Year 10.
Christmas Jumper Day
Thank you to everyone who entered into the festive spirit by donning a Christmas jumper on Wednesday and donating to Save the Children. So far, we have collected £443 but if anyone would still like to donate, you can still do so on ParentPay.
Coats for refugees
Thank you in to everyone who donated coats and boots to Care4Calais for refugees sleeping rough in Calais and Ukraine. We collected over 100 coats!
Welcome to the December edition of ‘Snowsations’ – Excel Learning Trust’s newsletter
As the term draws to a close, we wanted to share some fabulous news items with you to update you on what has been happening across the Trust over the last couple of months and in the lead up to Christmas.
You can read the newsletter here.
I hope you and your families have a wonderful Christmas and all good wishes for the New Year.
Kind regards
Mark Hassack
CEO, Excel Learning Trust
Employability Skills
As we finish the half term, we thought we’d step away from Job of the Week to look at another key employability skill. In other words, what is it that employers are looking for when recruiting for positions within their companies and businesses? Today we are focusing on ‘teamwork’. Teamwork is the combined action of working towards a goal and is an important part of life, not just work. It could be sharing ideas with colleagues to liaising with colleagues from different departments.
Watch this video for some other ways in which teamwork is used throughout the workplace.
Think Cambridge webinar series
Think Cambridge 2025 is a week-long series of webinars aimed at inspiring Year 11 and 12 students to think about applying to Cambridge. We also welcome teachers and supporters, and parents and advisors to join webinars, which will give you all the tools you will need to support a Year 11 or 12 future applicant.
The series runs from 27 January to 31 January 2025. Each session is hosted virtually and consists of a presentation, comment from our student ambassadors and additional visual elements. Sessions will be recorded and these will be sent to registered guests up to 48 hours after the session has concluded. This will allow students to watch any session that they are unable to attend at a later date.
For the full list of webinars, and the booking form, please see the Think Cambridge webpage.
Services available to families in York over Christmas
The Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) has produced a list of numerous different services available to families over Christmas. There is information available about mental health, medical services, food, holiday activities, support for carers, bereavement, homelessness, gambling, warm spaces and other services. Please take a look.
Support for parents/carers from the Specialist Teaching Team for autism support
Please see the attached flyer for details of the support available to parents/carers in the spring term 2025 through the City of York Council’s Specialist Teaching Team for autism support.
Family Matters course – Time Out for Parents: The Teenage Years
Family Matters York will be running their popular Time Out for Parents: The Teenage Years course again in March 2025.
To sign up for your FREE place, click here: Parenting course Teen Years March 25
(The course is free, although any donations towards the running of this course are a great help towards the work of this small charity.)
#WakeUpWednesday – 10 Top Tips for keeping your child safe on social media
Social media apps such as TikTok and Instagram are immensely popular among children and young people: Ofcom found that 96% of children have their own profile on at least one of these platforms by the age of 17. These apps feature short-form, algorithmically tailored content ensuring that their users spend as long as possible viewing posts and videos.
As parents, carers and educators, it is vital for us to safeguard the children in our care if, or more likely, when, they use social media. We know that, from time to time, some young people can use social media inappropriately, or be exposed to harmful content. However, the question then becomes “what exactly can we do?” This week’s expert-led guide from the National College is here to answer precisely that, offering top-level advice on keeping children and young people safe as they navigate the digital landscape. Please take a look.
Online support for students and parents
We wanted to remind you about our online support app called Padlet, which is a directory of support available for students and parents.
Padlet signposts the user to a range of websites and resources, providing support and advice relating to mental health, exam stress, online safety, self care, managing emotions, young carers, family support and more.
You can visit the Padlets by scanning the QR codes or clicking the links below.
Visit the Parent Padlet
Visit the Student Padlet
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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