This week we have had performances of Peter Pan and Wendy at Medina Theatre.  The students have worked so hard during the year and their hard work has paid off!  I went to both performances and was blown away by both. A massive thank you to Mr Lyle, Mrs Peckham, Mrs Shorrock and Miss Elkin for all their hard work putting the show together. It was a very professional performance. The storyline of the performance was a family struggling with grief following the loss of their youngest child and the team decided that the chosen charity for the production was “Sands” – the UK’s leading pregnancy and baby loss charity. Over £300 was raised with the sale of the programme and tea lights.

When we return after Christmas year 11 will have their trial exams in the sports hall. They start the week beginning 9 January. Timetables will be given to students next week. They had an assembly today from Mrs Edwards on the expectations and guidance on what they need to do when they sit their exams.

As the weather is getting colder, please do remember that we do have school jumpers available to buy which can be worn under blazers. Coats can obviously be worn to school but are not allowed to be worn in the buildings. Please support us by discouraging your child(ren) to bring hoodies to school, they are not allowed to be worn and if they are, will be confiscated.

Next week the festivities begin.  We have our Christmas lunch from Chartwells after which the staff will be putting on a performance of their own pantomime!  Thursday evening we have our Christmas Concert at St John’s Church in Newport.  This is free entry so come along and join in with the festivities.  Friday we have Christmas themed mufti day and the Santa Dash.

Whilst all of these events are exciting in the lead up to Christmas, lessons will remain as normal and we expect our usual good behaviour and uniform from the students.

As a reminder, the last day of term is Friday 16 December. This will be a normal full school day, finishing at 3.10 pm. We come back to school on Tuesday 3 January 

Have a lovely weekend.

On Tuesday a group of students from Carisbrooke and Medina College and The Island VI Form performed at a concert at Osborne House. The students were fantastic and we are very proud of them. A huge thank you to Mrs Peckham and all involved in supporting the students. You can read about this further on in the newsletter.

The end of term is fastly approaching and we have many events planned. Next week is the performance of Wendy and Peter Pan at Medina Theatre. Tickets are still available and you can order them via Medina Theatre. The following week we have our Christmas Concert at St John’s Church in Newport. This event is free to attend and is promised to be a full evening of Christmas festivities. On the last day of term, we have a Christmas themed Mufti day and also our Santa Dash. This is where students run two km from Carisbrooke College to Carisbrooke Castle and return. Christmas attire is encouraged! For your child to sign up for this, please sign up via School Gateway. All students receive a Christmas hat and a hot chocolate after the run.

Our canteen is serving Christmas lunch on Wednesday 14 December and you can see the full menu in the newsletter.

Flu immunisations are taking place for students in years 7 – 9 on Tuesday 6 December. If you haven’t already completed the consent form, there is a link for information on how to do so in the newsletter. Without this, your child will not be unable to receive the vaccine – which is a nasal spray rather than an injection.

Please see our website for useful information on how to keep up to date with your child’s achievement points, behaviour points and attendance on our new Parent Portals. There is a positive correlation between students’ attendance and their outcomes. Research has shown that students with less than 95% attendance on average achieve a grade lower than those students with attendance greater than 95%. I am concerned about the drop in attendance over the last couple of weeks with all year groups but more so with year 11. They have their trial exams when we come back after Christmas. Students need to be in their lessons.

Please remember, whilst we have all of these exciting events planned, we still have two weeks of learning for students and expectations around behaviour and full uniform remain the same.

Have a lovely weekend.