ConnectA newsletter for parents, students and the local community

Principal: Stuart Williamswww.catmosecollege.com

9 FEBRUARY 2012 ISSUE 32

Snow

Connect Changes

Youth Speaks

BBC News Report

Frontiers

College Holidays

Sports Fixtures

Alice Rehearsals

COLLEGE’S CONTINUED SUCCESS

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P 7YOUTH SPEAKS: Page 4

The latest school performance tables were published recently which are a clear demonstration of the continued academic success of the College; after four years of continuous improvement we are the highest performing school in the County with respect to the percentage of our students who achieve five A*-C grades (89%).  We are also the highest performing in respect of the ‘value added’ measure which demonstrates the ‘Outstanding’ progress students make whilst at the College.  The national average is 1000; we achieved a score of 1014, indicating our students achieved two grades higher than the national average.   I am sure you will agree that these results are indicative of the partnership between staff, parents and students which is such an important characteristic of this College.

However, this College will never be just about examination results.  Around a quarter of students at the College learn a musical instrument and a similar number are involved in our drama and musical activities.  The electives programme goes from strength to strength; when we asked students what they think of the courses, 93% of students agreed that they are the highlight of their week and that they learn a lot during the sessions.

We continue to encourage our students to develop wider skills; our success in the national youth speaking competition gives our students the opportunity to compete against both public schools and grammar schools in public speaking. We have so far, triumphed over several teams, including Uppingham School, to make it through to the regional finals.

You will also be aware that our partnership with Catmose Primary is going from strength to strength. The number of pupils on role has increased significantly in the last 12 months, to such an extent that we have employed two additional teaching staff.   The Primary school has recently been inspected by an external consultant and was rated as being ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding’ features. The academic success of the Primary School is also impressive; it reached the

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The College however is not complacent; we will continue to strive to improve the service we offer. It is for this reason and the continued dissatisfaction with County based post-16 provision for many parents, that we are consulting on expanding our provision to include a sixth form providing A level courses. Of those students who left us last year, 80% left the County or moved to a public school in order to continue their post-16 studies; we consider this inadequate. We will only proceed however, if there is significant parental support, if we are able to ensure an excellent provision and

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Where there is already a sibling at the College and the sibling will either still be at the College or attended the College within the last five years at the time of admission.

This criteria has been strengthened over the previous sibling preference, allowing priority even if the sibling has left the College within the last five years.  This criteria is designed to protect the excellent relationships the College has developed with our existing parents and ensure that any additional children are also able to benefit from them.

A child of staff at the College.

This is a new criteria which is to recognise the crucial role our staff have in ensuring that Catmose College continues to be an excellent place in which to be educated. This criterion will help ensure that we are able to recruit and retain the highest quality staff and recognise the excellent contribution they make to the College community.

Children who live nearest the school by distance.

This final criterion the governors believe is the fairest way to allocate remaining places, prioritising those who live closest to the School. This will ensure that going forward we remain the community college for Oakham and the surrounding villages we always have been. It also removes the unfairness that the old catchment brought, for example, Cottesmore, a village just outside of Oakham was not catchment.

This is a summary of the new draft policy and should only be used as general guidance; it should not be used to determine whether your child would be eligible for a place or not. Please read the full policy which is available from the parents’ section of our website or by hardcopy from the College.Where there is already a sibling at the College and the sibling will either still be at the College or attended the College within the last five years at the time of admission.

This criteria has been strengthened over the previous sibling preference, allowing priority even if the sibling has left the College within the last five years. This criteria is designed to protect the excellent relationships the College has developed with our existing parents and ensure that any additional children are also able to benefit from them.

A child of staff at the College.

This is a new criteria which is to recognise the crucial role our staff have in ensuring that Catmose College continues to be an excellent place in which to be educated. This criterion will help ensure that we are able to recruit and retain the highest quality staff and recognise the excellent contribution they make to the College community.

Children who live nearest the school by distance.

This final criterion the governors believe is the fairest way to allocate remaining places, prioritising those who live closest to the School. This will ensure that going forward we remain the community college for Oakham and the surrounding villages we always have been. It also removes the unfairness that the old catchment brought, for example, Cottesmore, a village just outside of Oakham was not catchment. The effect of this criterion can be seen below:

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COLLEGE’S CONTINUED SUCCESS (CONTINUED)

targets Ofsted set twelve months ago, a year early. The recent investments in ICT also make it one of the best equipped primary schools in the county. I have been so impressed by Catmose Primary that my wife and I have made the decision to apply for a place for my own daughter to start in September. It also demonstrates my own personal commitment to the College and to the Primary school for the long term.

The proposal to create a multi-academy trust that will be responsible for both schools, further demonstrates the long term commitment of both schools to this partnership and the success that it has brought.

The College however is not complacent; we will continue to strive to improve the service we offer.  It is for this reason and the continued dissatisfaction with County based post-16 provision for many parents, that we are consulting on expanding our provision to include a sixth form providing A level courses.  Of those students who left us last year, 80% left the County or moved to a public school in order to continue their post-16 studies; we consider this inadequate.  We will only proceed however, if there is significant parental support, if we are able to ensure an excellent provision and that the provision will be viable in the long term.  

I will shortly email all parents (for whom we have an email address) with a link to the survey and will also place a link on our website (www.catmosecollege.com). If you would like a hard copy of the survey to complete please contact the College or ask your child to collect one from Client Services.

Finally, as you are aware, the College has been inspected by Ofsted.  Thank you to those of you who have contributed to the parent survey sent out by Ofsted.  I look forward to reporting back the results of the inspection as soon as I am able to do so.  If you would like to discuss any aspect of the work of the College please do not hesitate to contact me.

Stuart Williams

swilliams@catmosecollege.com

SNOW

Information will be given as soon as possible on the College website, the College facebook page and Rutland Radio on 107.2, 97.4 FM and the College website www.catmosecollege.com

In event of severe weather we will make every effort to keep the college open and to continue as normal. However, in certain circumstances this may not be possible and emergency procedures may have to be adopted and your child will be sent home. It is wise to be prepared as we will not be able to notify you in advance.

If conditions allow, your child should set off for the college as normal but you should be prepared for two eventualities.

If you are dependent on a bus and roads are not clear, buses may not run and your child will need to return home.

If your child does arrive at the College and we are facing extreme circumstances, such as an unsafe site or not enough staff able to reach the College to safely look after students, we may have to close and your child will be sent home. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD KNOWS THE NUMBER TO USE TO CONTACT YOU DURING THE DAY.

Extreme weather during the dayIn the event of extreme weather we may have to send some or all students home early if the bus companies advise it due to the state of the roads.

PLEASE DISCUSS WITH YOUR CHILD WHAT PROCEDURE YOU WILL ADOPT IF, IN AN EMERGENCY, HE OR SHE HAS TO BE SENT HOME.(continued overleaf)

CONNECT NEWSLETTERS COMING TO YOU BY EMAIL

An example of how the Connect newsletter email will look

SNOW (CONTINUED)

Our main aim is to ensure the safety of all students. Please make sure your child knows where to go if you are unlikely to be at home.

NO CHILD SHOULD LEAVE THE COLLEGE IN AN EMERGENCY IF THEY HAVE NOWHERE TO GO OR IF YOU CONSIDER IT IS UNSAFE FOR THEM TO TRAVEL HOME.

If we have to send students home, we will tell students who cannot return home for any reason to go to the restaurant where they will remain in the college under supervision.

If you are unable to look after your child in an emergency or you think it is unsafe for them to travel home, you should tell your child to remain in the college.

Stuart Williams

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Parents find Connect a useful means of finding out what is happening at the College but they have often commented that it does not reach them via their child. We have therefore been looking for a means by which we can send Connect to parents in a more efficient manner. Next term we will start delivering Connect electronically as well as issuing a hard copy to students.

If we have your email details on file, we will start issuing Connect to you through an online service called Mail Chimp. You will have the choice to unsubscribe if you do not wish to receive it in this way.

Mail Chimp is a secure and private distributing service that will not share your information with any other companies or institutions. If you would like to subscribe to this service or if you need to update the email details we hold for you, please contact me either by email jrawding@catmosecollege.com or by phone 01572 770066. If we do not hear from you we will automatically add you to the email distribution.

Miss Rawding

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BBC NEWS SCHOOL REPORT

This year, our students have chosen various themes for their Newsday reports. These include the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the Olympics and the Paralympics. As part of our planning, our students arranged to interview Helen Briggs, Chief Executive of Rutland County Council to find out about the Council’s plans for celebrations for the Jubilee. They spent an interesting hour with Mrs Briggs finding out about the Council’s celebration plans.  

Another group arranged to interview Matt Hampson, former Leicester Tigers rugby player. He came into College last week and spent some time with the students, talking about his Foundation which is helping sponsor a Paralympic Table Tennis player. The students found this interview, their first one, very informative and they were inspired by what Matt had to say that despite his injury, he is able to give something back to others.     Another group held a Skype interview with a class in France to find out about what they think about all the events happening in the UK this year. This was an interesting hour and the students enjoyed conversing in French with students in France. Newsday this year is on Thursday 15 March. Please save this link as a favourite and return to the page after 4pm on the 15 March when our news report will be live http://www.catmosecollege.com/?view=bbcnews

Ms Smith

YOUTH SPEAKS

Congratulations to our Intermediate Youth Speaks Team who won their second heat in Melton recently and will now compete in the District final on February 29 in Kimbolton.  Isaac Costa, Talek Semmens and Tim Pearse engaged their

audience with their amusing  speech on Pizza.  We wish them every success.

On Tuesday 24 January the College’s talented Senior Youth Speaks team won through to go to the District final. Grace Ray spoke eloquently on ‘a Classical Journey’ supported by Abigail Pople and Cara Smithson.

On Wednesday 25 January the College’s excellent speakers, Pippa Brown, Grace Ray and Megan Foulkes spoke against the motion that Capital Punishment should be introduced. They won through to the District final in the English Speaking Union. This was the first time the College had entered the competition.

Their success was as a result of the hard work and commitment of the Team Leader of Humanities, Sue McGrath and the students, with the support of their parents. Congratulations to both teams.

Talek Semmens, Isaac Costa and Tim Pearse

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On Thursday 26 February, a small group consisting of myself, Rohan, Thomas and Amy travelled to London, Olympia, to attend the 'Learning Without Frontiers' 2012 Conference. The day started at 7.05am at Oakham station where, despite the cold, we were all excited and full of anticipation about the next few hours. Changing at Peterborough, we boarded the first class lounge where multiple cups of tea and remarkably un-bruised bananas awaited us. Afterwards, once we had arrived in London, we ventured though the maze of the London Underground and eventually arrived at the venue where we were awarded with our entry passes and introduced to the Digital Me Safe and S2R teams. Once at our presentation 'dome' we began our first Presentation; discussing the importance of eSafety and online footprints. We had an informal discussion with the participants about esafety and we used a prezi created by Rohan to teach others of some of the methods that we use in College to publicise events. We had the opportunity to interview Helen Shreeve, the editor of BBC News School Report (https://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/336609/title/whatisbbcnewsschoolreport) and Dr Paul Howard-Jones, an expert on the role of neuroscience in educational practice, about Game-Based Learning! (https://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/337784/title/howdoesgamebasedlearninghelppupils)     After this came another presentation about how we use social media in school for sport and the various opportunities that we have had through S2R and also BBC News School Report. We also did many vox-pops, however we still managed to find time to savagely ambush the freebie stands. The final presentation was captained by Amy and Thomas which was also about Radiowaves, its uses within the College environment and how we, as students, drive the use of technology within college. Leaving the venue we proceeded to McDonalds where some of us rewarded ourselves with chicken burgers and variations of milkshakes; whilst the more sophisticated of us (myself) enjoyed a Happy Meal and an over-sized cup of Coca-Cola. Heading back to Oakham we were able to reflect on our day and all that we had learnt about some ways that in the future, technology will be incorporated into learning to make it as enjoyable, motivating and engaging as possible. Thanks to the DigitalME S2R and Safe teams for a great and informative day, and of course Ms Smith for taking us.

Georgia Farr, Year 9

LEARNING WITHOUT FRONTIERS 2012

The College will close on Friday 10 February and will re-open on Monday 20 February.  If students are attending catch-up sessions during the holiday, they should bring their swipe card with them to access the College as usual.  They should also bring their own refreshments to eat in the Restaurant or on the Hellerup, as there are no catering facilities during the holiday.

COLLEGE HOLIDAY

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Acting, speech and confidence classes for all ages and abilities from 5 upwards.Catmose Primary School        Wednesdays after school during term time.Younger Class - 6.30 to 7.30 p.m.Older Class - 7.30 to 8.30 p.m.Only £6 for the one hour!                  Do you lack physical or vocal confidence?Do you want a career in Film, TV or theatre?Do you have an acting school audition to prepare for?Practise and develop strong communication skills, clear diction,projection and focus in fun sessions with children and teenagers of a similar age. See your confidence grow. Also for information on our Summer schools and Agency tel: 01536 460928 email: info@saracharles.com www.genesis-theatre.com

GENESIS

PHYSICAL EDUCATION, FIXTURES - TERM 4, 2011 – 12

DAY GIRLS FIXTURES BOYS FIXTURES

Wed 22/02/12 Year 7,8,9,10, 11 Netball v Belvoir @ Belvoir Year 7,8,9,10 Rugby v Belvoir @ Belvoir

Wed 29/02/12Year 7,8,10,11 Rugby v Casterton @ Oakham Rugby Club

Wed 07/03/12 Year 7,8,9 Netball v J Ferneley @ CatmoseYear 7,8,9 Rugby v J Ferneley @ Oakham Rugby Club

Thurs 08/03/12 Year 10 Netball v J Ferneley @ CatmoseYear 10, 11 Rugby v J Ferneley @ Oakham Rugby Club

Wed 14/03/12 Year 7,8,9 Netball v UCC @ UCCYear 7,8 Rugby v UCC @ UCC

Thurs 15/03/12Year 10,11 Netball v UCC @ UCC

Year 9,11 Rugby v UCC @ UCC

Wed 21/03/12Year 7,8,9 Netball v Long Field @ Long Field Year 7,8,9 Rugby v Long Field @ Long Field

Thurs 22/03/12Year 10,11 Netball v Long Field @ Long Field Year 10,11 Rugby v Long Field @ Long Field

ALICE IN WONDERLAND REHEARSAL DATES

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DATE TIME GROUP LED BY ROOMHALF TERMHALF TERMHALF TERMHALF TERMHALF TERMHALF TERM

WEEK 7

Mon 20 FebSinging 12:50-1:20 Group A MS Coltrane

WEEK 7

Mon 20 FebDrama 12:50-1:20 Group B LM Wilde

WEEK 7 Wed 22 FebSinging 12:50-1:20 Group B MS Vivaldi

WEEK 7 Wed 22 Feb Drama 12:50-1:20 Group A LM WildeWEEK 7 Wed 22 FebDrama 2:30-4:30 All cast LM/MS Theatre

WEEK 7

Thurs 23 FebSinging 12:50-1:20 Leads MS Vivaldi

WEEK 7

Thurs 23 FebDrama 12:50-1:20 Scene 5 LM Wilde

WEEK 8

Mon 27 FebSinging 12:50-1:20 Group A MS Coltrane

WEEK 8

Mon 27 FebDrama 12:50-1:20 Group B LM Wilde

WEEK 8Wed 29 Feb

Singing 12:50-1:20 Group B MS Vivaldi

WEEK 8Wed 29 Feb Drama 12:50-1:20 Group A LM Wilde

WEEK 8Wed 29 Feb

Drama 2:30-4:30 All cast LM/MS TheatreWEEK 8

Thurs 1 MarchSinging 12:50-1:20 Leads MS Vivaldi

WEEK 8

Thurs 1 March Drama 12:50-1:20 Scene 6 LM Wilde

WEEK 8

Thurs 1 March

WEEK 9

Mon 5 MarchSinging 12:50-1:20 Group A MS Coltrane

WEEK 9

Mon 5 MarchDrama 12:50-1:20 Group B LM Wilde

WEEK 9 Wed 7 MarchSinging 12:50-1:20 Group B MS Vivaldi

WEEK 9 Wed 7 March Drama 12:50-1:20 Group A LM WildeWEEK 9 Wed 7 MarchDrama 2:30-4:30 All cast LM/MS Theatre

WEEK 9

Thurs 8 MarchSinging 12:50-1:20 Spare MS Vivaldi

WEEK 9

Thurs 8 MarchDrama 12:50-1:20 Spare LM Wilde

Week 10/11

Wednesday 14 March [12:45- 5:00pm] TECHNICAL REHEARSALThursday 15 March [8:45-3:30pm] DRESS REHEARSALFriday 16 March [8:45-3:30pm] PRIMARY SCHOOL PERF.Sunday 18 March [3:00-4:30pm] MATINEE PERFORMANCE

Mondays 3:30 - 4:30     Alice in Wonderland Production TeamTuesdays 12:50 -1:20  Year 7 & 8 Drama Club (Shrek - I'm a believer)Tuesdays 3:30 - 4:30     Oundle Drama rehearsal (All Years)Wednesdays 2.30 - 3.30     Alice in Wonderland Props making

DRAMA - EXTRA CURRICULAR

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LOCAL EVENTS