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Head of School’s Blog – 22 March 2024

Head of School’s Blog – 22 March 2024

We are now about to start the last week of term; please remember that our last day is Thursday 28 March and students return to school on Monday 15 April.

This week we have had some lovely events occurring, including lots of sporting fixtures. We also have had a film crew in school to film our MVP (Mentors in Violence Prevention) students for their national training material. On top of this, Year 11 have completed their practical drama exams –  congratulations to all of them. 

Information regarding revision sessions that are taking place during the Easter break for Year 11 has been emailed to parents this afternoon and can be found here. Please do encourage students to access this valuable additional support. 

Next week, we will be saying goodbye to two members of staff who are sadly leaving us for pastures new. Mrs Peters and Ms Ferguson will be very much missed but we wish them well in their next exciting adventures.

 
Finally, I would like to congratulate our Hot Chocolate Friday winners: Freddy, Lilly, Lyla, Harrison, Lily-Grace, Mason, Ebony, Daisy, Emily and Izzy. They all won their golden ticket by either having 100% attendance in the last week or were top achievement point winners in their year.

Have a lovely weekend. 

Mr Pearce-Jones

Head of School – Medina College

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Head of School’s Blog – 15 March 2024

Head of School’s Blog – 15 March 2024

This week has seen some excellent successes for our students with the U15 girls football team winning the 6-a-side spring tournament and being runners up in the overall league. In basketball our boys Year 10 team won 5 out of 5 games with the basketball tournament at Medina on Tuesday, well done to Jordi who was named player of the tournament.

Our box of dreams winners this week in Year 11 were Ella and Jason, congratulations to you on some excellent revision in lessons.

We have noticed over the last couple of weeks that there has been an increase in students coming into school either wearing leggings or a hoodie. Neither of these items are permitted under our school uniform expectations. It is either school trousers or a school skirt. In terms of jumper it is a school jumper and blazer. If there are financial considerations to be taken into account, please can we ensure that parents contact the year offices to discuss.

We heard some excellent extra curricular news over the weekend, Megan in Year 7 competed in the Hampshire Country Grades for Gymnastics and placed first overall and now holds the title of Hampshire County Champion; well done Megan! It is lovely to be able to celebrate such success.

Well done also to our Year 11 students who completed their food tech practical exams this week and good look to our drama students for next Tuesday. We are busily compiling an offer of revision sessions over the Easter Holidays, so information will come out about this shortly.

A reminder that Year 9 pathways forms were due today. If these have not been returned, can they come in by Monday at the latest please.

Finally, I would like to congratulate our Hot Chocolate Friday winners: Cameron, Darryl, Charlie, Jacob, Finley, Ethan, Ryan, Sinan, Bailey and Sebastian. All achieved a golden ticket because they had 100% attendance in the last week or were the top achievement points holders in their year for the same period.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mr Pearce-Jones

Head of School – Medina College

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Head of School’s Blog – 8 March 2024

Head of School’s Blog – 8 March 2024

We now have just 14 days left of the Spring term, please make a note in your diaries that we break up for the Easter Holidays on Thursday 28th March as the Friday of that week is a bank holiday.

This week I had a meeting with the catering team to discuss the exciting menus they have planned for the summer term. During the meeting, they mentioned that there is a significant number of students who are entitled to free school meals who are not using this entitlement. If your child is eligible for free school meals, they have £2.95 a day to spend in the canteen which is enough to purchase a meal and a drink. If they don’t use this money, it does not accumulate, so please make sure you are taking advantage of this. Take a look at the current menus on our website here; there is a wide variety of hot and cold options every day at break and lunch time.

We are aware there is a very small minority of students who are abusing our toilet facilities. This is clearly an area of the school where we cannot have CCTV footage, so this makes it challenging for us to catch the perpetrators. Can I ask that we all reiterate the importance of respecting the facilities so everyone can use them in a pleasant manner. Looking at the local news and reports from other secondary schools, sadly this disrespect for toilets does not seem to be uncommon at the moment. On the topic of events that are happening outside of school, we are aware that some fake Medina College Tik Tok accounts have been set up. We do our best to investigate these and report them to Tik Tok to be blocked. However, I would like your support with this, so ask that if you come across such an account, can you please also report them so we can shut these down as quickly as possible.

This week we have had some amazing activities taking place such as: activities for National Careers Week, the Maritime Roadshow, World Book Day, Athletic Championships and other sporting fixtures and our Year 7 trial exams where I have had reported back to me that behaviour was amazing. Well done Year 7!

Also this week, we had the Year 9 Pathways Evening. All of the information that was shared can be found on our website here. Please remember that forms need to be returned by Friday 15 March at the latest. 

Finally, I would like to finish off by congratulating our Hot Chocolate Friday winners this week for 100% attendance in the previous week or top achievement points. Well done to: Ruben, Sebby, Billy, Tom, Ethan, Ellie, Molly, David, Lewis and Ferne.

Mr Pearce-Jones
Head of School – Medina College

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Head of School’s Blog – 1 March 2024

Head of School’s Blog – 1 March 2024

Welcome to March; it is hard to believe that we are almost a quarter of the way through the year already!

For Year 11, they only have 19 school days of this final full half term unaffected by their real GCSE exams, so it is important that they are ensuring every day counts.

Well done to Year 10 for their conduct in their trial exams this week, very impressive. Good luck to Year 7 for their first taste of exams next Wednesday.

Please remember that Wednesday 6 March is our Year 9 Pathways Evening between 5.00 – 7.00 pm. During this evening, important information will be given about how Year 9 can choose their GCSE options, so please do try to attend. 

Due to a lot of bugs and illnesses going around, attendance has been particularly low this week. It is really important to ensure, where possible, that students attend school because attendance of below 90% can affect a child’s GCSE grade by one whole grade. Guidance as to how to improve attendance can be found here: Attendance Guidance for Parents/Carers. I would also like to draw your attention to the latest new release from the Department of Education here. This explains how from August 2024 they are raising the costs of fines for term time absence. All fines are handled by the local authority who decide whether an absence reaches the threshold for a fine to be issued. 

I have had a few questions about toilets this week, so can I take this opportunity to reassure parents that there are multiple toilets open for students throughout the day. On top of the unisex toilet, we also have four separate toilet blocks for girls and two for boys. The single sex blocks are only closed for cleaning from 1.10 pm for about half an hour. 

Congratulations to all the sports teams this week: well done for playing all the fixtures you have despite the rain.

Finally, well done to our Hot Chocolate Friday winners: Emma, Harry, Ethan, Maddie, Logan, Alfie, Sophie, Ethan, Billy and Harry, who all secured a place either through 100% attendance in the last week or being the top achievement point winners for their year group. 

Have a lovely weekend. 

Mr Pearce-Jones

Head of School – Medina College

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Head of School’s Blog – 23 February 2024

Head of School’s Blog – 23 February 2024

I would like to start off by wishing you all a warm welcome back after half term, it has been lovely to have students back in school and completing excellent learning.

This week we had a very busy Year 9 Parents’ Evening on Tuesday and Year 11 have been completing two days of mock exams in English, maths and science. Next week we have Year 10 completing their first set of exams on the GCSE courses they have chosen to study.

Don’t forget that on Wednesday 6 March, 5-7pm we have the Pathway Evening for Year 9, an evening designed to assist them in choosing the right subjects for their GCSE courses.

This week I have been delivering assemblies on ambition and, now we are half way through the academic year, it is important that all students reflect upon their great ambition. What is it they want to achieve? What are the barriers that are getting in the way? How can school help them realise their ambitions? And finally, understanding that along the way we will all fail at things, but the lessons we learn at these points help us improve for the future. I know as a school our ambition for all students is to be the best version of themselves.

I would like to finish off by saying a special congratulations to Sophie for her impressive performance in Phantom of the Opera outside of school. I would also like to say well done to our Hot Chocolate Friday winners who gained a place for either 100% attendance in the last week or were top achievement points winners in their year group. This week we celebrated with Alfie, Dean, Naomi, Lily, Sammy, Rosie, Pip and Scott.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mr Pearce-Jones
Head of School – Medina College

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Indoor Football Tournaments

Indoor Football Tournaments

Last half term, during lunchtimes, an indoor football tournament was contested between teams from Year 7 and Year 8. Some great games were played with many great goals scored and memories created. The support for the other teams was also great to see.

Third place were Year 7 team The X Men, Second place was Year 8 team Reeves Rovers and the Winners were Year 7 team ABC United (pictured). 

The Year 9 boys are regulars to lunchtime indoor football so it was great to see them playing a competitive tournament. Third place was Chunky FC, Second place was Big Boys FC and the Winners were Dibbens Doughnuts (pictured).

Top goal scorer of the tournament was Harry and the player of the tournament was Billy. Well played everyone. Special thanks goes to Bailey and Max from Year 11 who refereed all the games.

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Head of School’s Blog – 9 February 2024

Head of School’s Blog – 9 February 2024

We have now reached half way through the academic year and it has absolutely flown by. Before we know it, Year 11 will have left us and we will be thinking about transition into the next academic year.

On Wednesday evening I had the pleasure of seeing our students perform in Dance Live! The theme they chose was so thought provoking. It was a student-led theme of students who find themselves in foster care and the challenges they face with fitting in and the desire to have a forever family. I was left reflecting upon the importance that the stability school can provide in a student’s life and the impact a strong link between home and school can have. Well done to all of those involved, a special hot chocolate event will follow after half term!


This week we also had people from the world of business come into our school and run mock interviews for our Year 11 students. It was a phenomenal opportunity for them to improve upon their life skills and place them in a stronger position when applying for jobs. 


After the half term holiday, we have Year 9 Parents’ Evening on Tuesday 20 February and Year 11 mock exams in English, maths and science on Thursday 22 and Friday 23 February. 


Congratulations to our Hot Chocolate Friday winners this week: Sapphire, Louie, Olivia, Jake, Adam, Kaydee, Samson, Alex and Grace. 


Finally, I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable half term break and we will see you all for the start of term on Monday 19 February. 

Mr Pearce-Jones

Head of School – Medina College

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Glitter and Glow Disco

Glitter and Glow Disco

On Thursday 1 February, we had our ‘Glitter and Glow’ themed Year 7 Disco to celebrate the students completing their first term at Medina College. The event was a great success for students and staff alike with face paint and glitter, glow sticks, Bahar’s tuck shop and an incredible set by DJ (Mr Turner) who provided the tunes. It was lovely to see so many students joining in with the fun and letting their hair down.

Thank you to the staff who gave up their time to organise and set up the disco and in particular to Mr Worsley who showed the students up on the dance floor. It was a well deserved treat for the year group and I hope those who came had a night to remember.





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Head of School’s Blog – 1 February 2024

Head of School’s Blog – 1 February 2024

We are now officially in February and hopefully spring is beginning to emerge. I would first of all like to remind everyone that it is a Staff Development Day tomorrow with our colleagues from the new academy trust we will be joining. We will focus on increasing diversity in our curriculum and how to better support disadvantaged students.

Next week sees the last week of term before we break up for the half term holidays, so Friday 9 February is the last day.

We are very much looking forward to the Year 7 Disco later and, hopefully, it will be a really enjoyable event to celebrate their time with us so far.

The Year 9 Parents’ Evening booking system goes live today, so please make sure you are booking your face to face appointments with teachers to help students understand their progress and also guide you with the GCSE option choice process.

Finally, we really appreciate parental engagement as it makes our job much more productive and purposeful. However, could I ask that if you would like to see a member of staff could you please ensure you phone to make an appointment. This will ensure the right member of staff can see you and come prepared to answer any query you may have.

Have a lovely weekend and I will see all students back to school on Monday.

Mr Pearce-Jones
Head of School – Medina College

School Transport Policies Consultation

The Isle of Wight Council is seeking residents and stakeholders view on proposed changes to the School Transport Policy (previously called the ‘Home to School Transport Policy). The School Transport Policy sets out the legal responsibilities that the Council has in order to provide assistance with transport to school or another education setting for children and young people living in the local authority area.

The Council is required by law to consult on any changes to its School Transport Policy. In addition, the council is consulting in relation to post 16 travel arrangements  Although there is no automatic entitlement to local authority funded school or college transport once a student is over the age of 16, Isle of Wight Council makes discretionary funding available in certain circumstances. If approved, changes to the policy will be applied to new applications from September 2024.

The consultation is open now and will close at 11.59 pm on Wednesday 13 March 2024.

Before giving your views via the online response form we ask that you read the Consultation Information Packs, both of which can be accessed via the consultation webpage www.iow.gov.uk/consultations. If you require a paper copy of the consultation pack or response form please email, transport.info@iow.gov.uk.

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Head of School’s Blog – 26 January 2024

Head of School’s Blog – 26 January 2024

We are now nearly at the end of January and it is hard to believe that we are already a month into 2024, time seems to be flying by. This week has been another busy week with Year 9 having the second presentation on their subjects for GCSE. Their final presentation will take place on Wednesday 31 January during period one where Mr Krista will give more information about the next stage of the process.

Thank you to the Year 11 parents who attended the Help Your Child to Revise Evening yesterday. If you missed this, all of the resources shared can be found on our website here. Please take a look and discuss revision plans with your child to ensure they make the most of the time they have between now and the summer exams. 

We had some excellent news from the Resilience Challenge competition run by EDWise this week, where Medina students won the award for the most innovative response. Island schools and colleges had to respond to an emergency situation and put relief plans in place. They all demonstrated great career capital skills of: public speaking, teamwork, creative thinking, leadership and creative problem solving. Well done to: Archie, Imogen, Lily, Connor, Isaac and Charlotte. 

I also hosted our Hot Chocolate Friday winners for either top attendance or achievement points in their year for the last week. Well done to: Bobby, Joseph, Lexi, Jaiden, Liam, Harleigh, Daisy, Frankie, George and Maiya; it was lovely to celebrate your success!

Next week we have the Year 7 disco to look forward to on Thursday 1 February from 4.30-5.45pm. Remember tickets can be purchased through Arbor.

Next Friday, 2 February is a staff development day, so students will not be in school that day.

Have a lovely, restful and safe weekend and I look forward to welcoming students back on Monday.

Mr Pearce-Jones

Head of School – Medina College 

Measles

There has been a rise in cases of measles in London and the West Midlands recently. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has now declared a national incident in order to focus actions to limit the spread. To support this, the Department for Education has published What to do if you think your child has measles and when to keep them off school. Please take a look at this link. Measles can spread very easily and for some people can cause extremely serious problems, so it is important to be aware of the symptoms. 

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