Autumn Term 2

December 2015

Marriotts News Aim high. Work hard. Be kind.

In partnership with

CONTENTS

100% Attendance ..........2

Remembrance Day and

A Star is Born ................4

Dates for your Diary ......5

Year 7 War Horse Trip and

Harry Potter Trip ............6

Who was Tom Moore? ..7

Theme Day ....................8

John Hegley Trip and a

message from the Chair of

Governors ......................9

BBC Microbit Event and

Sports Acrobatic Club ....10

Christmas Quiz ..............11

Sixth Form and Children in

Need ..............................12

A Face of Facades and

pictures from the

Christmas Concert .........13

Emergency Closure

Information and

Communication

Procedures ....................14

Dear Parents, Carers, Students and Staff I hope that this edition of the newsletter finds you well and that you are looking forward to a well earned rest over the Christmas holidays.

This half term, like every half term at Marriotts, has been busy, productive and successful.

We began the half term with a celebration of remembrance when all of our students were moved by a powerful assembly and impressed us with their maturity and conduct.

We had our Local Authority Review by four Ofsted Inspectors. The review went very well and you can see the detailed report on our website (Ofsted/LA Review).

Highlights include:

Leadership and management has shown determination to secure effective teaching and learning across the school.

Students feel safe around the school and effective safeguarding arrangements are in place.

Positive relationships between staff and students were a real strength of the school.

Governors have an accurate view of the school’s performance and provide appropriate and effective challenge to the leadership team.

Examples of very effective and engaging classroom practice were seen.

Our new module system has been launched and students and staff have worked hard on assessments.

Students have taken part in many trips and enjoyed sporting and musical success.

On 25th November we had a fantastic Theme Day focussing on careers, RE and employability. The whole school took part, and the day was a huge success thanks to the excellent organisation, contribution of all volunteers and the impressive conduct of the students.

Students and staff have been working hard in rehearsals to ensure our Christmas Concert event is a great success.

Thank you to all staff and students for their continued efforts to ensure that the quality of education at Marriotts is the best it can be. Thank you also to parents for their fantastic support .

I would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Ms B Honnor

Headteacher

2

Congratulations

to the following

students who have achieved

100% attendance so far this year.

Bekteshi, Lorenc 7A

Cela, Denis 7A

Hazelton, Faye 7A

Killworth, Alice-Ann 7A

Petts, Joe 7A

Poole, Keiran 7A

Jeffries, Jazmin 7B

Jones, Rebecca 7B

Luders, Henry 7B

Mandibaya, Pricilla 7B

Szczepanik, Julia 7B

Thomas, Taylor 7B

Wilkins, Lois 7B

Corpe, Carmel 7C

Jones, Ben 7C

Large, Faye 7C

Mann, Frances 7C

Reilly, Robbie-Jay 7C

Rush, Edward 7C

Allison, Lauren 7D

Cela, Andi 7D

Ebbs, Thomas 7D

Fridlova, Katerina 7D

Igbinokpogie, Tamara 7D

Richardson, Kayleigh 7D

Saunders, Ben 7D

Searle, Kian 7D

Eldridge-Palliser, Kaytie 7E

Fursland, Tyler 7E

Garrett, Conor 7E

Hazeldene, Jake 7E

Kerby, Emily 7E

Lopez, Georgia 7E

Payne, Nathan 7E

Ashby, George 7F

Avis, Kayne 7F

Blackie, Rosie-Mae 7F

Cameron, Charlie 7F

Carroll, Shileyah 7F

Craig, Abigail 7F

Crane, Ellen 7F

Dear, Amy 7F

Fenson, Owen 7F

Holley-Goodman, Tegan 7F

Mitcham, Ben 7F

Mitchell, Jack 7F

Akparanta, Aaron 7G

Ballard, Robyn 7G

Bannister-Goodge, Jodie 7G

Jackman, Katie 7G

Lamacraft, Kian 7G

McAleese, Matthew 7G

Morris, Alex 7G

Moulton, Kaci-Leigh 7G

Winbourne, Milli 7G

Chappell, Tom 7H

Godfrey, Abigail 7H

Kay, Micky 7H

Neville, Daniel 7H

Wake, Aaron 7H

Davis, Ellie 8A

Davis, Shenelle 8A

Emery, Liberty 8A

Heaps, George 8A

Jones, Aerion 8A

Rudland, Abbie 8A

Chipperfield, Chris 8B

Doherty, Aaron 8B

Myers, Kayceann 8B

Shaw, Jake 8B

Usher, Connor 8B

Xiao, Tess 8B

Carter, Grace 8C

Dunlop, Bethany 8C

Gereltauskaite, Agne 8C

Hopcraft, Lauren 8C

Innes, Regan 8C

James, Joshua 8C

Ramsay, Joe 8C

Roberts, Kai 8C

Smith, Kieran 8C

Brown, Tom 8D

Morris, Sophia 8D

Sharpe, Sophie 8D

Shreeve, Kira 8D

West, Hannah 8D

Davis, Ella 8E

Downes, George 8E

Ellwood, Jack 8E

James, Annabelle 8E

King, Gemma 8E

Lincoln, Jack 8E

Pape, Emily 8E

Parker, Georgina 8E

Randall, Summer 8E

Browne, Sarah-Louise 8F

Coates, Chloe 8F

Markey, Ethan 8F

McAleese, Katie 8F

3

Faulkner, Charleigh-Jen 8G

Hunter, Olivia 8G

McCarthy, Lennon 8G

Pagett, Josh 8G

Worton, Sian 8G

Cerha, Krystof 8H

Jenkins, Morgan 8H

Marshall, Lewis 8H

Maulguet, Harriet 8H

Schwarz, Caitlin 8H

Southern, Benjamin 8H

Thiara, Roman 8H

Warren, Emilee 8H

Barrett, Samantha 9A

Clarke, Olivia 9A

Hatt, Abbey 9A

Jacklin, Emily 9A

Montvilaite, Toma 9A

Newstead, Eve 9A

Woolf, Archie 9A

Edwards, Curtis 9B

Makalo, Sanna 9B

Nelson, Sam 9B

Perry, Kayleigh 9B

Cooper, Emily 9C

Ingram, Lucy 9C

Jackson, Charlotte 9C

Lee, Joshua 9C

Lunney-Simpson, Aimee 9C

Newstead, Orla 9C

Nichols, Keira 9C

Sapsford, Rebecca 9C

Smith, Kieran 9C

Calderon, Karma 9D

Horlock, Hadley 9D

Marshall, Gabe 9D

Mostert, Owen 9D

O'Sullivan, Dayla May 9D

Twigger, Kirsty 9D

Hatt, Polly 9E

Howell, Lily 9E

Lampshire, Tyler 9E

Paul, Jack 9E

Rowland, Isabelle 9E

Amukpo, Owens 10A

Dolby, Megan 10A

Escaramello, Ryan 10A

Free, Faith 10A

Leggett, Charlie 10A

Ryan, Maddie 10A

Urwin, Hollyann 10A

Broux, Colby 10B

Da Rocha, Euan 10B

Edwards, Keanon 10B

Moore, James 10B

Myles, Callum 10B

Purkiss, Holly 10B

Reynolds, Lewis 10B

Sharpe, Holly 10C

Spraggs-Court, Lucy 10C

Bird, Connor 10D

Clifford, Kai 10D

Ndlovu, Marshal 10D

Purkiss, Olivia 10D

Andrews, Ellie 10E

Coleman, Jordan 10E

Manger, Lauren 10E

Schnapp, Lisa 10E

Weston, Nathan 10E

Allen, Reece 11A

Ayhan, Seda 11A

Bourne, Taneka 11A

Free, Angel 11A

Furness, Connie 11A

Price, Amy 11A

Rolls, Casey 11A

Twigger, Thomas 11A

Finch, Kenny 11B

Kingsland, Ross 11B

Mole, Jade 11B

Williamson, Ella 11B

Davis, Lewis 11C

Hewitt, Robbie 11C

Kierzek, Weronika 11C

O'Sullivan, Shelley-Ann 11C

Stewart, Conor 11C

Szmyt, Adrian 11C

Thevathasan, Sophia 11C

Ahmed, Abdul-Aziz 11D

Howard, Denis 11D

Jones, Charlotte 11D

Mackenzie, Imogen 11D

Norrington, Daniel 11D

Norton, Caitlin 11D

Parry, Melissa 11D

Ballard, Daniel 11E

Brown, Kate 11E

Kyle, Troy 11E

Perry, Sam 11E

Van-Hogermeer, Max 11F

Wheatley, Chelsea 11F

Well done for achieving 100%

attendance since

September.

Aim high. Work hard.

Be kind.

REMEMBRANCE DAY

We would like to introduce you to a number of our young students who shone brightly throughout the day wearing their uniform with pride to celebrate the memory of our fallen heroes of World War II. Mr Kerr led the Remembrance Day assemblies with great pride and great enthusiasm. Our students were extremely respectful, thoughtful and experienced with the emotion that was portrayed

throughout the day. The whole school also honoured the 2 minutes silence We are extremely proud of our students, cadets and members of staff and we felt as though the day could not have gone any better. ‘Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it' - Pericles

Miss R Christodoulou, Year Leader

4

“Congratulations Grade 5 Violin exam passed with Merit.”

“We are

extremely proud of our

students, cadets and members of

staff.”

A STAR IS BORN

We would like to congratulate Maddison Malocco (7H) who is taking part and starring in the Pantomime Peter Pan at The Alban Arena.

Maddison will be appearing as a dancer alongside stars such as Jake Wood, Katrina Bryan and Bob Golding. There will be plenty of action and entertainment to keep all members of the family happy in this most magical of productions.

Maddison will be participating in 55

performances of this spectacular Pantomime until January 3rd 2016.

I am sure you would like to join me in congratulating Maddison on this amazing achievement.

Ms C Smith, Music Teacher

Well done and congratulations to Rebecca Wood (10A) who has passed her Grade 5

violin exam with a merit.

Ms C Smith, Music Teacher

Autumn Term 2

Friday 18th

December – Last day of term - school finishes at 12.20pm

Spring Term 1

Monday 4th

January – First day of term

Tuesday 12th

January – Inset Day 3 – school closed to students

Thursday 21st

January – KS5 Parents’ Evening

Thursday 28th January – Year 9 Options Evening

Friday 12th

February – Last day of term

Monday 15th

to Friday 19th

February – Half Term

Spring Term 2

Monday 22nd

February – First day of term

Wednesday 16th

March – Inset Day 4 – school closed to students.

Tuesday 22nd

March – Year 11 Information, Advice and Guidance Evening

Friday 25th

March – Bank Holiday (Good Friday) – school closed

Monday 28th

March – Bank Holiday (Easter Monday) – school closed

Friday 1st

April – last day of term

Please note: The end of term break between the Spring and Summer terms does not coincide with the Easter weekend.

Summer Term 1

Monday 18th

April – First day of term

Monday 30th

May to Friday 3rd

June – Half Term

Thursday 21st

April – Year 10 Parents’ Evening

Friday 27th

May – Last day of term

Monday 30th

May to Friday 3rd

June – Half Term

Summer Term 2

Monday 6th June – First day of term

Wednesday 29th

June – Sports Day

Friday 8th

July – Year 11 Prom

Friday 22nd

July – Last day of term

5

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Last Day of

Autumn Term — Friday 18th December

School finishes

at 12.20pm

First Day of Spring Term —

Monday 4th January

Normal school

day, school starts at 8.30am

Inset Days

Tuesday

12th January

Wednesday 16th March

YEAR 7 WAR HORSE TRIP

Four members of staff and 31 Year 7 students attended Drury Lane Theatre in the West End to see an amazing adaptation of Michael Morhorog’s novel War Horse. Here is a report from Riley Young. “We all loved it! It was amazing best thing I have ever seen in my life. I would love to go again. I loved the book as well and would highly recommend it to

anyone. It was so clever the way they had made the horses and how they created their movements. I felt like I was part of it all! The special effects were extremely cool as well and all the teachers were really nice. Thanks for a great trip Miss Stewart!”

Miss L Stewart, English Teacher

6

Sixth Form students had a fabulous time exploring the set of Harry Potter. They had rides on a broomstick, learnt how to use a wand and tried butterbeer.

The students were amazed by the detail that had gone into the making of the film and were keen to ask questions and to read information provided about the production process.

Students are to be congratulated on their exemplary behaviour.

Everyone enjoyed themselves and had fun. We only wish we could have stayed longer.

Miss J Hearn, English Teacher

“Students are to be congratulated on their exemplary behaviour.”

HARRY POTTER TRIP

7

WHO WAS TOM MOORE?

Tom Moore was the oldest of three children. All three of them swam for Stevenage Swimming Club. Although Tom went to University, he came back during the holidays to swim for Stevenage. Tom was also a qualified mountain leader. In the summer of 2008, Tom was invited to go on a scouting expedition. One day, Tom went on a walk through the mountains in Liechtenstein but he sadly never returned. He had been in a devastating accident where he had fallen into a ravine.

Stevenage Swimming Club

As a mark of respect, the owner of Stevenage Swimming Club renamed the Autumn Novice Gala to The Tom Moore Novice Gala. All of the money raised went to the Moore family’s charity choice which was The Starlight Foundation for terminally ill children. This year, Stevenage Swimming Club received the most amount of entries ever for this event. Over 74 swimmers swam at the Tom Moore Memorial Gala. In total there were 413 entries and we raised around £500. The £500 that was raised was given to The Starlight Foundation. The youngest children taking part in the gala were 5 years old and the oldest 12. Stevenage Swimming Club hold this gala for the younger age division so that they can get used to what an open meet would be like.

Medals

As the Tom Moore Novice Gala is held for younger children with not much experience at galas, medals are given out for the first 5 places. Stevenage Swimming Club want as many people as possible to go home with medals.

The strap on the medal is yellow with black stripes. They are this

design because Tom Moore’s favourite animal was a tiger. Also, whenever his friends saw him most of the time he would have a top on with a tiger on it.

Daisy Sandon 7E

At the Tom Moore Memorial Novice Gala Daisy took part in 8 races. She got 3 gold, 3 silver and a bronze medal and a speeding ticket. Daisy got gold in 50m butterfly, 25m butterfly and 25m freestyle. In the 50m backstroke, 25m breaststroke and 25m backstroke she got silver medals. Daisy got her bronze medal in 50m breaststroke and her speeding ticket in 50m freestyle.

Gemma Hemmings 7E

Gemma took part in 6 races. She got 2 gold medals, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals, one for being placed 4th. She got her gold medals in 50m breaststroke and 25m breaststroke. In 50m freestyle and 25m backstroke she got silver medals. Gemma got her bronze medal in 25m freestyle and her 4th place medal in 50m butterfly.

Speeding Tickets

At the Tom Moore Memorial Novice Gala, there are set times and if your time is faster than the set times on the day you get a speeding ticket instead of a medal. Speeding tickets are a piece of card with a border which says your name, your time and what race you got the speeding ticket in.

Daisy Sandon 7E, Gemma Hemmings 7E, and Connor Garrett 7E

“The Tom Moore Novice Gala raises

£500 for The Starlight

Foundation.”

THEME DAY

On Wednesday 25th

November Marriotts students enjoyed a Theme Day, and were involved in a number of activities The Year 7s took part in a church trail, the purpose being to actively explore faith and belief in Britain today, by visiting a place of religious importance. The students had the opportunity to listen and talk with people who belong to the faith community. They also took part in an activity in school which involved them designing their own stained glass window, whilst looking at symbolism. The Year 8s took part in a one day social enterprise programme that required them to work in teams as ‘social entrepreneurs’ to assess the needs or challenges of their local communities, and develop ideas to solve them. During the day local business volunteers worked alongside the students, providing support and advice. These included Home- Start Stevenage, NHS Forget Me Not (Dementia Aware), Happy Days, Family Lives, Riding for the Disabled, Teens: Unite Fighting. We look forward to the Year 8s group continuing with this work throughout the year. Year 9 and Year 11 took part in a one-day programme which included workshops on interview skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education. There was also the chance for students to visit the Marriotts Careers Fair which included representatives from a wide variety of professions, including: Care Cadets, East and

North Herts NHS Trust, GSK, Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, Hertfordshire Constabulary, Hertfordshire County Council, Sporting Futures Training, Stevenage Borough Council, The British Army, UKTD (UK Training and Development Ltd), Vauxhall and Willmott Dixon. Year 10 took part in a ‘Get Work Ready’ programme delivered by E.L.S.A. ‘Education, Learning, Skills and Achievement’. It allowed the students to take part in interview and job application challenges that local employers use within their current recruitment processes. The students began to discover and gain an appreciation of the qualities and skills required by today’s employers. The students undertook individual and team assessments, thinking ‘out of the box’ tasks, customer service activities, practical and written exercises and interviews. Local and national employers delivered the sessions, assessing the students and providing real and honest feedback. Students also had the opportunity to peer assess, explore and develop their own skills. The organisations that attended, or provided activities and input, included Willmott Dixon, EE, Waitrose, Tesco, Asda, Moss Bros, C&J Heating and Plumbing, Kings Fund, FFEI, Lloyds Bank and local entrepreneurs. Mrs L Tether, Assistant Headteacher

8

9

9

JOHN HEGLEY POETRY TRIP

On Monday 7th December a group of Year 10 students visited The Bushey Academy to watch John Hegley perform his poetry. His unusual, quirky style certainly engaged the audience and the students gained some insight into the mind of poet!

It was also a pleasure to visit a

partner school in the Meller Educational Trust and share a tasty lunch with them.

Mrs N Moss, English Lead Practitioner

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF GOVERNORS

It's been a very busy term as ever. After the excellent exam results gained by students in Years 11, 12 and 13 in the summer the school is already looking forward to even better results in the coming years. The commitment of all the staff and our students is very evident whenever governors visit the school.

The role of governors is simply to be a critical friend of the school, we support and challenge. The majority of governors are not from an education background so we find it easy asking the question, ‘Why are we doing that?’ All governors spend a whole day regularly at the school so we are there before the first student arrives and after the last student leaves. We regularly chat to staff and students to see how it feels to work or study at Marriotts.

Personally I have been involved

with the school since 2002 when my eldest son started at the school, there have certainly been highs, and a few lows, along the way but as a mum the thing which always strikes me is how happy our students are. As a governing body we want all students to do their best and get into the university, apprenticeship, college course or career that they aspire to but we also want their time at school to be a happy one.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of the Marriotts Family a happy, relaxing and peaceful Christmas break and look forward to a successful 2016.

Mrs M McQueen

“We would like to take this

opportunity to wish all of the

Marriotts Family a happy,

relaxing and peaceful

Christmas break and look

forward to a successful

2016.”

10

“Well done and congratulations to all who took

part.”

BBC MICROBIT EVENT

We would like to congratulate Year 7 students who took part in the BBC Microbit Event at Da Vinci School recently. We are pleased to announce that they finished in joint first place. The students had a very successful time and enjoyed themselves enormously. They

even managed to take part in programming. Well done and congratulations to all who took part. Mrs B Tamizi, Science Teacher

“Beth Tweddle MBE visits Marriotts

Sports Centre.”

PRESENTATION OF AWARDS TO THE SPORTS

ACROBATIC CLUB

We had a very special visitor to the Sports Centre over the weekend, Beth Tweddle MBE. Presentations of the awards to the Sports Acrobatic Club was made by her with the overall winner being Maddie Ryan (Year 10) who won ‘The most dedicated gymnast of 2015’ Award. Congratulations goes to Maddie and a massive thank you to Beth for her appearance. Mr J Drackford, Community Leisure Services Manager

1. Who composed the music known as The Nutcracker Suite, for the Christmas themed ballet The Nutcracker, premiered in St Petersburg, 1892?

2. Which Christmas slogan was introduced by Clarissa Baldwin of Dogs Trust in 1978?

3. In the song 'The Twelve Days Of Christmas', how many swans were a-swimming?

4. Driving Home For Christmas was a 1988 hit single for which singer? 5. In which country does Santa have his own personal postcode HOH

OHO? 6. What is the chemical formula of snow? 7. Which poem written by Clement Moore was originally titled A Visit from

Saint Nicholas? 8. What Christmas-time song did James Pierpont compose in 1857? 9. White Christmas, a cake made of coconut, crisped rice and dried fruit, is

popular in which country? 10. What red-blooming Christmas plant came originally from Mexico? 11. Who was the first British monarch to broadcast a Christmas message to

the nation? 12. What is the English title of the carol written in 1818 by Austrian priest

Josef Mohr originally called Stille Nacht? 13. How many gifts are given in total in the song The Twelve Days of

Christmas? 14. What animal is Snowball in George Orwell's book Animal Farm? 15. Traditional in Germany at Christmas, what sort of food is stollen? 16. The Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway notably) tend to

celebrate Christmas chiefly on which date? 17. Father Christmas is known as Pai Natal in which European country? 18. How many of Rudolph's eight companions names start with 'D'? 19. Who brings presents to children in Holland on the 5th/6th December? 20. What was the movie title of Tim Burton's ghoulish 1993 Christmas tale? 21. In which fictional land was it always winter but never Christmas? 22. Which Christmas accessory did the London confectioner Tom Smith

invent in 1846? 23. What are you eating if you are enjoying 'March Bread'? 24. Which country gives a Christmas tree to Britain every year, something it

has done traditionally for years? 25. What did Harry Potter get as a Christmas present during his first

semester at Hogwarts?

CHRISTMAS QUIZ

Christmas Quiz

“ In the song ‘The Twelve

Days of Christmas’ …

What animal is

Snowball …

In which fictional land

…

Which country gives a

Christmas Tree …

What is the chemical formula of

snow?

What did Harry Potter

…”

Christmas Quiz Answers

1. Tchaikovsky 2. A Dog Is For Life, Not Just For Christmas 3. Seven 4. Chris Rea 5. Canada 6. H2O 7. The Night Before Christmas 8. Jingle Bells 9. Australia 10. Poinsettia 11. George the Fifth 12. Silent Night 13. 364

14. Pig 15. Cake 16. 24th December 17. Portugal 18. Three - Dasher, Dancer and Donner 19. St. Nicholas 20. the 'Nightmare Before Christmas' 21. Narnia 22. Christmas crackers 23. Marzipan 24. Norway 25. Invisibility cloak

11

MARRIOTTS SIXTH FORM

“Well done and congratulations to all who took

part.”

It has been a positive start form the Marriotts Sixth Form so far this year and it is a pleasure to have a study room full of activity. Attendance and punctuality has continued to show a positive trend and the Sixth Form study area is always full of students working hard and making the most of their time, not in lessons, to develop their work.

Sixth Form students have been provided with an improved Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) Programme this year with the ever improving Marriotts Extra curriculum and our modular form plans.

Marriotts Extra has been developed to cater to students’ specific needs with classes ranging from: interviewing skills and personal statement writing, to fund raising and includes many more life skills workshops.

Form plans have been improved with the incorporation of our British Values sessions alongside our current affairs sessions and assemblies.

Another improvement made this year is that all students have applied for a ‘Whole School Responsibility’ task. Students were given the option of jobs such as helping on duty, being a teaching assistant or training to be a peer mentor. These jobs will be added to

students’ timetables and will help towards improving the school as a whole.

We have already begun our guest speaker and further enrichment programme by inviting into school, specialists to talk about student finance, NCS, IT careers and studying abroad. A number of students have also visited Bedfordshire University for an aspirational day.

Even more exciting news comes from the UCAS applications for our Year 13 students. Last year we had 100% of students who applied for university get their first place and this year we have had over three times the amount of students express interest with several looking at Russell Group applications. This is great news for the Sixth Form and we look forward to helping students with their applications and setting the whole cohort up for life after Sixth Form.

We continue to drive our recruitment programme for students to join Post 16 in the next academic year

Our Post 16 Open Evening, held on 19th November, was a great success.

Mr A Illingworth, Pastoral Leader Years 12/13

CHILDREN IN NEED

We would like to thank everyone who took part in the non uniform day in November to raise funds for Children in Need. We raised an amazing £936.05.

12

13

A Face of Façades

PICTURES FROM THIS YEAR’S CHRISTMAS CONCERT

The people of today focus so much on negative depression, Pretty soon all of those thoughts will turn into negative aggression! Every day people wear a whole book of façades, Meaning we have no idea who they really are. There is so much judgement on what we look like, But really it’s our true personalities that count, Because they have something to discriminate, Something to always discriminate about, People don’t understand what goes on at home.

Only the victim. Those on their own. Yet again they won’t understand how it feels, On their own in that certain ordeal. Soon enough you’re back to square one. Again with the façade on your face. Not a soul, not a soul to stand there in their innocent place. New day new cards, A whole array of façades. At the end of the day we’re all innocent bystanders, But the ones that can speak up have true powers! Kai Clifford

“A poem by Kai Clifford”

“...At the end

of the day we’re all innocent

bystanders…”

If we have emergencies that prevent the school from opening, e.g. snow and bad weather, please listen for announcements on BOB FM - http://www.bobfm.co.uk/, Herts Direct - www.hertsdirect.org , the Online School Closure System at https://www.imodus.com/summary.aspx?company=99 and on the school website.

Please note that although we will continue to notify the local radio station in the event of an emergency closure and will update the website as soon as we are able, our primary method of communication will be by text to the number identified as the primary parent/carer for each of the students in the school.

As a result of this, it is essential that we have your up to date mobile phone number. If you are unsure whether or not you have notified us of your mobile number, please send a note to the school with your contact details and a request for your number to be checked on the system.

Please discuss with your child what you would want them to do in the event of any sudden closure during the day, i.e. should they go to a designated friend’s house. This is especially important for students who do not live locally.

School Comms

Marriotts uses the electronic communication system Schoolcomms. In order for you to receive the maximum possible use from this system we require a valid email address and mobile telephone number for the Priority 1 contact. Please can we ask you to ensure we have up-to-date information on your child.

You can download the App from Schoolcomms (https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/school-gateway/id596039615?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4)

We currently have 553 parents registered on the Gateway, that’s over 60%. So far we have 485 parents using the App, allowing the school to communicate free of charge.

Please look on the Schoolcomms website, http://schoolcomms.com/parent-login/parents for more information. The School Gateway App allows you to view your child’s attendance and enable you to notify the school of any unauthorised absence.

The application will also allow you to view your child’s timetable showing what lessons they have, achievement points received any medical details previously advised to the school. You are able to message back from the App with any changes to your own or your child’s details, for example, update on mobile number or change of address.

Schoolcomms is monitored throughout the day by the Admin staff and any messages received will be responded to the same day.

If you experience any problems either with the App or Schoolgateway, please do not hesitate to contact the school office or Mrs Goff on l.goff@marriotts.herts.sch.uk who can help to resolve any issues.

Contact Details

In case of an emergency it is imperative that we hold a valid telephone number and email address for the main contacts we have on our system for your child. If you have recently changed your mobile or home telephone numbers or email address please notify the school office so we can update our system.

If you want to access an existing School Gateway account or create a new one, this requires your email and mobile number to set up; if we do not have the same details on our system it will not allow you to access your account or create one, thus telling you we have out of date information.

(https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/school-gateway/id596039615?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4).

North Entrance

We would like to remind you that the gates at the North entrance in Telford Avenue will be closed daily at 8.30am, if students arrive after this time they will need to make their way to the main school entrance in Brittain Way. The gates will re-open again at 3.00pm at the end of the school day.

Visitors

We would also like to remind you that if you are visiting the school you should do so via the main entrance in Brittain Way and report to Reception.

Facebook / Twitter

In addition to the above we communicate with parents via the school’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Please join us and link to this page for further information. The address is: https://www.facebook.com/MarriottsSchool? and @mMarriottsschfref=ts and @Marriottssch

14

COMMUNICATION PROCEDURES