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Ibstock Community College Newsletter - September 2021

Welcome

Dear Parents, Carers, Students and Friends,

As the weather starts to turn cooler and the nights draw in it is time to reflect on the first 6 weeks of the Autumn term. It has certainly been productive!

Last week we had our first long awaited, in person event of the academic year as we welcomed Y6 prospective parents into school for our Open Evening. The atmosphere around school was electric with each faculty showcasing their lessons and resources. Our visitors were invited to “guess the exotic fruit”, take a selfie at the Eiffel Tower, meet a Viking. Everyone had a great evening and we have enjoyed celebrating Ibstock with parent and student tours so they experience real life Ibstock. We have received some fantastic feedback which has been lovely to receive. This, is a particularly exciting year as any students who choose Ibstock as their secondary school will stay with us for the entire 5 years – and we really can’t wait!

You will read in this newsletter introductions from our new members of Team Ibstock. They bring with them a wealth of experience, talents and skills and each are already having a positive impact on our students and the wider team.

Yesterday was our Yr. 7 tutor evening. We saw lots of families, many for the first time and some also enjoyed a tour around the school and facilities. It is wonderful to have such great parental engagement and I hope that some of you will join me in our virtual Teams Parent Forum on Weds 10 November, more details to follow.

With best wishes

Mrs Williams

Headteacher

Mr Mason - Assistant Headteacher, Teaching and Learning

We are really excited to be able to hold our very first GCSE options evening on the 12th October 2021. The evening will run between 6pm and 8pm.

The evening will be a fantastic opportunity for you to find out about the wide range of subjects we will be able to offer your child should you make Ibstock Community College your school of choice to support child through the next stage of their education.

The evening will consist of a welcome from Mrs Williams, with a KS4 prospectus that will detail all the subject information you will need to know. All our teachers will be available on the evening as well. You will have lots of questions you will want to ask and will be able to talk to your child’s teacher directly to ensure that you make the right decisions with your child.

We very much look forward to seeing you all on our options evening to introduce to you the next exciting stage we are embarking on together.

Mr Mason

Ms Scott - Assistant Headteacher, Behaviour and Attendance and English Teacher

September has been a very busy month for all at Ibstock Community College. We have been so pleased to see our new Yr7s settle into school life and adapt very quickly to all the changes that secondary school offers. We have all loved the sense of returning to ‘normal’ without the classroom bubbles this term and students have fed back positively about their experiences of moving around the building.

As you know, we worked with local authority guidance to bring in measures to address the rising COVID-19 numbers. We are very pleased to see our attendance numbers steadily rising from the initial increase all schools faced upon the return post-holiday. We are grateful for the continued support of the whole school community in helping keep measures in place and allow the focus on student learning to continue with as little disruption as possible. We’ve had our first week of returning to separate year group bubbles at social time. This is working well and students have coped well with the change in their timetable.

With the launch of our new full time Attendance Intervention Officer role with Mrs Cobley at the helm, we have rolled out our weekly and Year to Date attendance figures to reflect a student’s attendance without Covid impact. We want our students to continue feeling positive about their attendance, despite the factors we’ve had no control over.

We have been rolling out our safeguarding education programme for our staff and students from the start of term. As you know, safeguarding is a topic that we prioritise and educating our students around topics such as Consent, County Lines and Prevent are part of our Autumn term programme. We are very pleased to have confirmation from Leicester City Prevent Team and Leicestershire Police to lead assemblies and follow up programmes around these essential topics to keep our children safe.

Ms Scott

Introducing...

Miss Nelson - Assistant Headteacher

I arrived at Ibstock Community College this August as Assistant Headteacher and received a warm welcome from our fantastic students. I have joined the school after working as a senior leader in a large Derby city 11-18 school and have extensive experience of working with Key Stage 4 and teaching GCSE English and English Literature. My focus in school is on assessment and student progress - we want our students to have every success through their own high aspirations, hard work and partnerships with home.

Students who have met me will know that I love tap dancing, dogs, reading and biscuits! I also like an adventure, including sea kayaking and skiing. I am looking forward to working with the ICC community on our journey to KS4.

Mr Yates - Faculty Leader D&T

I have been teaching for 14 years, before teaching I studied Industrial Design at Loughborough University for my degree. Once my degree was completed I spent time working in a residential outdoor activity centre for primary school children. I returned to Loughborough to complete my PGCE and started working in a large secondary school in Nottinghamshire teaching KS3 through to A Level in Design and Technology. I held a number of roles at that school from STEM and KS2 transition coordinator through to department and subject lead. The last 7 years were spent as the Head of Faculty for D&T where we offered and delivered a wide range of subjects at GCSE and A Level.

Miss Belnavis - Year 7 Pastoral Manager

My name is Rochelle Belnavis and I am the Pastoral Manager for Year 7.

My last role was working in a pastoral team at an all girls’ secondary school in Birmingham. My focus is to create a safe and happy environment for students and help them reach their full potential.

I am passionate about education and looking forward to working with all staff, students and families of Ibstock Community College.

Fun facts about me; I am a proud Brummie of Jamaican heritage. I love music, enjoy playing the violin and currently learning how to play the bass guitar!

If you have any queries or concerns, please contact me at the school and I will be happy to help.

Miss Stafford - Teacher of History

Hi all! A quick introduction to me and what to expect from me as a History teacher.

On a personal note, I am a mummy to a lovely, hyperactive one year old boy. I spent the last year off with him and watching him grow so this is my first year at Ibstock. I have two dogs- a Shih Tzu called Albert and a Zuchon called Benji. I really enjoy watching TV, reading and walking the dogs in my free time.

As a teacher, I specialise in American History- specifically the 1920s and Black History. My subject interests range all the way from the Crusades to British Political History in the 20th Century. I am passionate about diverse history and learning in creative ways. The most important aspect of my job is building meaningful relationships with pupils and their parents/guardians. I look forward to meeting you all over this year!

Miss Crooke - Teacher of Drama

I am Ibstock’s new Drama teacher, Miss Crooke. I have always enjoyed all things theatre; getting involved in amateur dramatics, taking singing and dancing lessons and completing a theatre degree. Education is something I have always been passionate about. I’m delighted to be teaching at Ibstock and have enjoyed getting to know the students as I settle in. I’m looking forward to building the Drama department here. Drama is a creative, expressive, practical subject that gives students the opportunity to use their imagination and learn about communication, culture and empathy.

Mr Flavell - Teacher of Geography

Hi, I am Mr Flavell Geography teacher, helping Mrs Goddard with the development of the Geography curriculum. I currently teach Geography and PSHE.

I have just finished my studies at The University of Sheffield where I studied Geography – the best subject in the world! If I hadn’t become a teacher, I would have liked to train as a personal trainer, as sports and fitness are a big part of my life. My dream job would be a formula 1 driver.

I absolutely love to travel and I am always on the look out for new places to go. I enjoy exercising and exploring the outdoors. Geography is my passion as I find the world around me fascinating and I am keen to understand what makes our world go round. It enables us to understand and connect with the world we all live in. There is so much out there to learn about and explore, it is a subject of subjects!

Welcome to History Club!

Students! Do you enjoy history? Do you watch Horrible Histories and historical films in your spare time? If so, History Club could be for you! Miss Stafford and Miss Woolnough welcome you to Ibstock Community College’s History Club, with our meetings beginning on Monday 4th October at break time in HU5/HU3.

In History Club we will look at various themes such as Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Remembrance and more! We will also enter national competitions that are run by real historians. What’s more, you will get the chance to vote on parts of history that you want to study that you might not get a chance to in lessons.

Develop key historical skills like making interpretations, reviewing evidence and research with a chance to contribute to the school newsletter each issue.

Our schedule for the rest of this term is below, along with further details on this month’s sessions.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with Miss Woolnough or Miss Stafford e.woolnough@ibstockcollege.co.uk or c.stafford@ibstockcollege.co.uk

Students who attend 3 consecutive sessions will be awarded 10 achievement points for their dedication to their extra-curricular learning.

Miss Woolnough

Miss Woolnough will be running the Animals at War competition in association with the Western Front Association that is open to 13-15 year old secondary school students.

We will be looking at all the different animals that helped out during WW1 (some might surprise you!) and work on our projects for the competition. We will be primarily looking at the classic novel, War Horse by Michael Morpurgo to get an idea of perspective. You will have the chance to research the animals who went to war and complete a project for the competition or for our in-school competition.

Using examples from War Horse as our starting point, students are invited to submit either:

1) One or two passages in which an animal describes their wartime experiences (up to 500 words total) or

2) A cover for a new book about an animal in the First World War. It will need to have a title and author and students may, if they wish, include the back of the cover with a short 'blurb' about the story they are illustrating.

You do not need to be creative for this and you do not have to enter the competitions. If this sounds like something you are interested in, don’t be put off by competitions! There is no requirement that you enter (although there are cash prizes from the WFA!).

(For more information about the competition please follow the link. http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/latest-news/june-2021/the-roles-animals-played-in-the-first-world-war-competition/

Miss Stafford

For Black History month, you have the option to research black historical figures and create a piece towards the Humanities newsletter.

The research project is independent, and it is your choice how you present your findings. You have autonomy over who you research and the information you provide (within reason).

The newsletter will be going out across the school, and this is your chance to showcase your writing skills, your research skills, and your design skills!

If you are creative, innovative, and passionate this is the project for you.

We look forward to seeing you in HU3.

Tutor Reading Programme

As part of developing reading for pleasure across the college, we introduced the Tutor Reading Programme at the beginning of the year. Twice a week, all students spend time with their tutor in the morning reading a novel. Each year group has a different novel:

Year 7 – When The Sky Falls by Phil Earle

Year 8 – I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Year 9 – They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

The feedback from staff and students has been overwhelmingly positive, they are enjoying exploring the novels together as a form. Please ask the students about the novels they are reading, there are lots of interesting topics and themes that are being covered in these novels, we’d love for them to share this with you.

Sporting Achievements

Last weekend Kingsley (9KG), Austin (9KG) and Ianthe (7RR) competed in the U14s National American Flag Football championship in Northampton as part of the Leicester Huntsmen team. Having qualified sixth out of eight teams they went on to win the quarter finals and semifinals making it through to the finals against the Southcoast Spitfires. Huntsmen lost the finals but succeeded in a massive achievement to become runners up Nationally - Well done!

Lily (9KG) entered her first Hunter Trials event last weekend at the Fernie Hunter Trials in Leicester. Lily competed in a class against 76 others. Congratulations on a such a fantastic achievement Lily!

Fairtrade Project

Our year 9 leavers have left behind a lasting legacy in the Humanities department, who have just used their Fairtrade project renewed the Fair Aware award giving Ibstock Community College Fairtrade status. Well done everyone involved!

Deli Salads

Students over the past week have been making Deli salads in Food & Nutrition.

As part of the Key Stage Three curriculum students look at the Eatwell Guide and understand what a balanced and healthy diet is.

The Deli Salad helps the students to strengthen their knowledge and understanding about 'Healthy Living' so it is a perfect lesson for them to start the academic year with in Food & Nutrition.

Macmillan Cancer Trust Coffee Morning

At Open Evening last week a group of Year 8 students volunteered to help Mrs Grimadell in the Food & Nutrition room with the making and selling of shortbread biscuits for Macmillan Cancer Trust.

The shortbread proved extremely popular and by the end of the evening the group had completely sold out!

Thank you to all of the visitors that came down to see a practical session in action and donated to the very worthy cause! Thank you also to the superstar Year 8's that took the challenge on - you were brilliant!

On the Friday morning staff made, brought and donated cakes for the College's coffee morning.

It was a lovely event and it was brilliant to see lots of staff getting involved. Miss Nelson's gluten free chocolate cake was extremely popular and enjoyed by the staff that managed to get their hands on a slice!

Altogether, over £150 was raised for Macmillan Cancer Trust. Thank you for your generosity.

Uniform

We are aware that a number of students are still awaiting delivery of uniform. We thank you for your patience and understanding and apologise for any inconvenience caused due to the delays.

Remote Learning

From Monday 27th September, all our online learning resources moved to FoldR. For our students in Y8 and Y9 they will be familiar with how FoldR works, from the lockdown period earlier this year. For our Y7 families FoldR is an online facility that allows teachers to upload work that students need to complete each day, if they are isolating and are well enough to complete the work. There is a user guide on our website, please see the link below. We will spend time in all lessons at the start of next week, showing students how to use and navigate FoldR in the event they need to use it to work from home.

How parents/carers can help

  • Ensure you know your child’s timetable – we ask you to follow this each day
  • Ensure you and your child knows your school username and password. This is what you use to sign into FoldR.
  • Ensure your child emails work back to their teacher so that we can see how they are getting on.
  • Provide access to suitable devices your child can use to complete any work. Please let us know if this is a problem.
  • Provide a suitable working area for your child to complete their school work.

The link for FoldR can be found on the Remote Learning tab on our website. The link to the page is here - https://www.ibstockcollege.co.uk/remote-learning-

Please contact j.mason@ibstockcollege.co.uk should you have any questions or queries about access to remote learning.

Covid Home Testing

Thank you for your support in completing the lateral flow tests at home with your child(ren).

It is important for staff and students to keep testing at home twice a week to manage the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). We recommend testing on Sunday's and Wednesday's.

To report a positive lateral flow test result please email icc.admin@ibstockcollege.co.uk

For more information on home testing, please visit our website:

https://www.ibstockcollege.co.uk/letters/covid-home-testing-

Sims Student Lite

Please encourage students to download the Sims Student Lite app so they can view their homework and their timetable.

Further instructions have been sent to all students school email address from our IT department so they have clear instructions to follow. The activation email was sent to all students school email address.

We will be running a tutor period on Thursday, 14th October, period 1. This is foremost to allow all students time to review their first attitude report. However, it will also be an opportunity to provide support / access for any remaining students still to log on to Sims Parent Lite. WiFi access will be given and students will be permitted to use their mobile phones during this lesson.

Parent Lite

Please ensure you have activated your Parent Lite account and keep your child's information upto date. If you have not received an activation email or are experiencing any issues please contact icc.admin@ibstockcollege.co.uk

Please take time to look through each tab and update information as required. It is especially important to ensure contact details are up to date, consent information is correct and any medical details or dietary needs are recorded accurately.

Contacting the college

Email: icc.admin@ibstockcollege.co.uk

Website: www.ibstockcollege.co.uk

Upcoming Dates

Tuesday 12 October 2021 - Year 9 GCSE Information Evening (6-8pm)

October Half Term - Monday 18th - Friday 22nd October 2021

Advanced notice - School will be closed on Friday 3 December 2021 in lieu of the additional jubilee bank holiday in 2022.