Welcome to this week’s blog. We are very pleased to be able to say that our ‘new’ website is now live, enabling you to see our latest news stories and general information more easily. We are aware that you have missed this as well as our more contemporary style newsletter, so I am very pleased to be able to bring this back to you.

Our Dance Live team came second yesterday evening at Portsmouth Guildhall. We are so proud of them and are waiting with bated breath to see if they make the grand final. This was a truly federative entry with students from all three of our sites (Carisbrooke College, Medina College and The Island VI Form) working together as an Isle of Wight Education Federation team. They should be very proud of themselves for what they have achieved, we are, and I am very grateful for the team of staff who supported them on this journey.

Year 11 had their trial results assembly yesterday, and I am sure they will have come home and shared their results with you. If not, please do ask them. Please encourage them to take notice of what I wrote in my update last week with regard to their next steps. Invites have now been sent for the Year 11 Parents’ Evening, on Wednesday, 16 February, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

The first part of our new Glasshouse was installed this week, with the ground works now complete. We are excited about each and every step along the way for our new IGCSE subject. We will be hosting an Agriculture Careers event on Tuesday 8 February, so Year 9 students will have the opportunity to have an insight into the types of things that this course may lead to.

As always, please stay alert to COVID-19 symptoms, and if your child does have them, isolate them and arrange a PCR test. If they do test positive, please do keep them at home and follow the Government guidance on isolation.

I hope you have an enjoyable weekend.

I will start by continuing my message about Year 11 and how every day/week counts. Next week, on Thursday, Year 11 will be having a trial results day. They will have an assembly which will introduce the event, and then collect their envelope containing a slip with their ‘current working grade’ for each of their subjects. This is a grade that their teacher is giving them based on their trial exam and work in class. This is not a final predicted grade. This is what they are working at now. Therefore, if this is not the grade they are looking to achieve in the summer, they need to remember that there is still time, there is still curriculum to cover and there is time to revise and focus on what they need to do to improve this grade. We will have tutors, subject staff, and senior leaders supporting this process so it is important that this is seen as a snapshot only. No student should feel complacent or demoralised by this, it is just an indication to them so they know where they stand currently. We will be holding a virtual Year 11 Parents’ Evening on Wednesday 16 February, when you will have the opportunity to discuss any concerns that you have with the subject staff. Please do make the most of this opportunity.

Next Thursday sees our Dance Live! team take part in the competition at Portsmouth Guildhall, which is the culmination of their hours of practice and dedication. We wish them the very best and know they will do a fantastic job and make us proud. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Dance Live!, ‘it sees those in Keystage 2 – 4 and Further Education compete with choreographed routines to the backdrop of a giant digital screen with pupils showcasing a range of skills from dance, performance and off-stage technical skills to creative design’. Thank you to all of the students and staff who have given up their time to support this.
We have some work starting on our site next week towards infrastructure for one of the elements of our new Agriculture GCSE, which we will be offering at KS4 from September. We will give regular updates on this exciting new project over the coming months and details of the course will be available in the Keystage 4 Pathways information that our Year 9 students receive in the next couple of months.

Although the Government has eased restrictions in regard to COVID-19 and the wearing of face coverings, we are encouraging students to be supportive of each other and if they wish to wear a face covering, they should carry on doing so. Numbers of people testing positive are monitored but it is important that the routines that we have been used to in regard to general hygiene routines continue and that anyone with any one of the symptoms does isolate and arrange a PCR test.

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

We have had a successful week in school with focused behaviour for learning in the
classrooms. It is important that we do acknowledge and celebrate the ‘normal’ work
that is done day in, day out, every week by our students and staff. It is the consistency of the expectations and lessons being delivered in the classrooms that
provides the basis for the progress we are making and supports the drive for wider opportunities. It is key that all students in all year groups do understand that every day is a building block to their future and that the best way to create a wide range of potential paths is to have a good positive work ethic. Thank you to all of our students who already have this.

Next week sees more extra-curricular sporting opportunities and we also have a new Astronomy Club starting for years 7,8 and 9 on Wednesdays between 3.15 pm – 4.30 pm, in addition to the many other clubs that are offered throughout the week at lunchtime and after school.

As you will be aware the Government updated their guidance this week to say that face coverings are no longer advised for pupils, staff and visitors in classrooms. From 27 January, face coverings are no longer advised for pupils, staff and visitors in communal areas. From 27 January, staff and pupils should follow wider advice on face coverings outside of school, including on transport to and from school. We obviously leave it at the discretion of the students, staff and visitors if they wish to continue wearing a face covering beyond the date of the change in guidance. Please be assured that we do monitor the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in school and we do have the ability under contingency planning to re-introduce measures if we need to.

Planning is currently being done for the Year 11 trial results day which will be held week commencing 31 January. This will be delivered as part of an assembly so that the students are clear about what this day means for them and how they need to use their trial results to prepare for the summer season.

I hope you have a great weekend.