ST SAMPSON’S HIGH SCHOOL PARENTS’ NEWSLETTER

February 2016

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A LOVELY HALF TERM!

Our school Facebook page for parents/carers is: St Sampson’s High School, Guernsey.

We aim to keep Parents/carers up-to date with all the latest news and events, posting any last minute messages where possible. Parents/carers may find it useful to ask non urgent questions on here, of a general nature, which staff may be able to answer.

Our Facebook page for parents/carers now has PE department Twitter feeds.

epartment Twitter feeds.

A Message from our Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers

As we come out of a very wet Winter into Spring we are looking forward to longer, brighter

days where staff and students will start to see the benefit of their hard work this year. Yr11

took their mock exams in January, some are pleased with their predictions, others are having

to increase their efforts in order to get the grades they want. If you have a child in Yr11,

please encourage them to attend the out of hours classes staff are running for students.

In February, Education staff came to visit St Sampson’s they commented, in particular, on the

good behaviour of students and the highly effective teaching they saw in classrooms, this is

always good to hear.

This week we held our Going Solo concert, an excellent showcase for our students’ musical

talent. I look forward to the PTAs Talent competition next half term. Yr 8 are currently

filming their versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, these should be going live shortly.

Talking of Chocolate, the Business Challenge has been an absolute delight this term, our

budding entrepreneurs are inventive and persuasive, I am very proud of them!

Wishing you all a lovely half term break.

Yours sincerely

Mrs A Bolt Headteacher

Team Jonah!! Students have been busy raising money for TEAM JONAH! and continue to do so. So far we have raised as a school £1974.31. Should you wish to donate to Jonah for his ongoing treatment you can donate to his Just giving page https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/jonah-gillingham Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/Jonah-Can-Beat-Cancer-1509340829344367 (Jonah Can Beat Cancer). You can also follow his progress on his YouTube links via

that page. Thanks all for your support!

Headlice Could we please remind all parents to check their child’s hair on a regular basis. We have had a number of cases reported this term. If you do find lice please treat immediately, comb through the hair with a headlice comb ensuring all lice and eggs are removed before sending your child back to school. It is imperative that the hair is treated one week after the initial treatment and the hair combed regularly to ensure all lice and eggs are removed.

Car Park Please would Parents/Carers note that when they are waiting for students at the end of school they should use the designated car parking area to the West of the site. At no time should Parents/Carers park or wait in either the staff car parking area or the disabled bays. We have had problems with cars getting blocked in and we have the students leaving on their motorbikes and push bikes in this area and it needs to be kept clear at all times due to Health and Safety reasons. Thank you for your understanding.

English News from Mrs Appelqvist The English Department are excited to welcome author, Nick Cook, to the school as a part of this

year’s Book Week. He will be giving a talk to the whole of Year 9 about writing fiction, and his own

experience as a writer of teen fiction. We hope that he will inspire many of our young budding authors!

He will also be leading a lunchtime workshop with a selection of our gifted and talented Year 8

students.

Our GCSE students have also been busy writing; they have been creating Valentine’s Day themed

poetry, but not necessarily the works of love and roses you may be expecting. Their often anti-

Valentine’s Day poems have been entered into a writer’s competition through The Guernsey Press, and

we eagerly await the announcement of the winners (we have our fingers crossed!)

We are also excited for the launch of the Never Such Innocence project, which was launched at the

end of January. This competition is island and nationwide, and it aims to help the public remember the

centenary of World War One through student art and poetry. We have been invited by the charity to

challenge all of our students to put pen to paper, and write a poem inspired by World War One. All

students will be given the chance to enter this competition in their English class. Prizes include the

chance to have their poetry published in a commemorative book, and attend a prize giving at The

House of Lords in London. There will also be cash prizes for the top three entries and certificates for all

who enter. The closing date is Friday 25th March, students can get additional information from the

charity’s website: http://neversuchinnocence.com/view/2015%257C16_competition_

Finally, our gifted and talented club, The Dead Poets Society have been busy once again, and took part

in the Baubigny schools’ Shakespeare evening. The Dead Poets Society put together movie trailers

based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and Macbeth. A big thank you to Melissa Wilson and

Holly Brown who lead these projects.

SSHS Year group facebook &Twitter Pages The Heads of year 7, 8 & 9 have recently set up Facebook & Twitter pages for their individual year groups. Here you can find regular updates of success and useful information.

Y7 https://www.facebook.com/StSampsonsHighYear7/?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/SSHSJFE?lang=en

Y8 https://www.facebook.com/St-Sampsons-High-Year-8-697939986928117/?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/SSHS_7?lang=en

Y9 https://www.facebook.com/St-Sampsons-High-Year-9-600423793443769/?fref=ts

Design & Technology Well done to our Year 7 RMT students who have designed, cast and finished some lovely pewter key

ring's. You can come and collect your key ring's from Mr. Ingrouille in DG3.

Creative Arts dates for your diary: 3rd-12th March Music Eisteddfod The Orchestra, Choir, Brass Ensemble. Brass Quartet and St Sampson’s Stage Sound are all taking part this year. Performances will take place at Beau Sejour and St. James. Dates will be confirmed in the new year.

M.A.D Night 15th June 7.30pm A showcase of work from the Music, Art and Drama departments.

Students’ sport report Please continue to follow the PE dept on Twitter @sshspedept

St Sampson’s High School Sporting Results Jan – Feb 2016…

Please note: Badminton vs College & LBHS are still yet to play.

Boys Basketball

Year 7 – beat LMDC 26-4, beat LBHS 22-0, beat Grammar 20-2 beat College 30-18 – LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

Year 8 – beat LMDC 36-12, beat LBHS 50-10, beat Grammar 16-9, beat College 50-23 – LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

Year 9 – lost LMDC 26-22, beat LBHS 25-20, lost Grammar 47-18, lost College 42-19

Year 10 – beat LMDC 26-11, lost LBHS 30-14, lost Grammar 20-18, lost 40-20 Les Voies, beat College 26-18

Girls Basketball

Year 10/11 – 2nd place

Year 9 – 2nd place

Year 8 – 3rd place

Year 7 – 3rd place

Boys Badminton

KS4 Tournament – 2nd place

KS4 – lost Grammar 3-2

KS3 - lost Grammar 5-0

Boys Rugby - One-off fixture

Year 8 – lost De La Salle 17-10

Careers support for students

Carers Twitter Follow Ms Kaufman on Twitter to find out what is going on in the Careers Department and Careers in school – SSHSRKN.

Please keep on looking at www.stsampsonshigh.com and go to the Careers page for up to date information and advice and guidance on Careers. We post current vacancies there too!

Careers Advice Services You can search information about lots of things relating to careers; how to apply for a job, finding a job and help with CVs to name but a few. Contact details below:-

School Dates 2016

2016 Spring Term

Monday 22nd to Friday 26th February Half Term

Wednesday 9th March Closing Date for post 16 applications

Thursday 10th March Year 9 Consultation Evening

Friday 25th March Good Friday

Monday 28th March Easter Monday

Tuesday 29th March to Thursday 31st March Drama Exams

Thursday 31st March Year 8 Consultation Evening

Tuesday 5th April Careers Show

Friday 8th April TERM ENDS FOR EASTER HOLIDAYS

2016 Summer Term

Monday 25th April Staff return to School

Tuesday 26th April Students return to School

Monday 2nd May May Day Holiday

Friday 6th May Staff Training Day

Monday 9th May Liberation Day Holiday

Monday 16th May to Wednesday 29th June GCSE Exams

Thursday 19th May Year 7 Consultation Evening

Tuesday 24th May Sports Day

Monday 30th May to Friday 3rd June Half Term

Tuesday 14th June MAD Night Rehearsals

Wednesday 15th June MAD Night

Contact: Sean Parry, Careers Adviser for St Sampson’s

T: 733024 E: sparry@education.gov.gg W: www.careers.gg New and Improved website!

You will find us in the Education Department at the top of the Grange.

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8.30am – 5.00pm including school holidays

Wednesday 22nd June Sweeney Todd Rehearsals

Thursday 23rd June Sweeney Todd Performances

Year 9 Immunisations

Friday 8th July West Coast Challenge

Monday 11th to Friday 15th July Year 10 Works Experience week

Year 11 Duke of Edinburgh Expedition

Wednesday 13th to Friday 15th July Opportunities Week

Monday 18th to Thursday 21st July Year 10 Practice Duke of Edinburgh Expedition

Thursday 21st July TERM ENDS FOR SUMMER HOLIDAYS