Volume 10
Issue 14
W/C 7 December 2020
Chiltern Hills Academy
Chartridge Lane
Chesham
Buckinghamshire
HP5 2RG
Telephone 01494 782066
Fax 01494 783185
[email protected]
www.chilternhillsacademy.co.uk
You may already be aware that, on 8 December, the Government announced that schools should close on 18 December and use this day as an INSET day. We have consulted with Buckinghamshire Council, who have also issued us with advice in relation of how we could act in this matter.
As a result of this collaboration, we are taking the advice of the Council, which is fully supported by our Governors, and setting 18 of December as a Remote Learning Morning and not as an INSET day.
The three key reasons for this decision are to:
1. Reduce the risk of us needing to use the ‘track and trace’ service and be calling families up to Christmas Eve.
2. Reduce the risk of transmission at the end of term that will interfere with family arrangements during the festive season.
3. Rehearse for a possible future lockdown or bubble being sent home, making sure that all our students and staff are able to access and engage with Teams online teaching.
On Friday morning, as a result, our staff will be setting up Teams lessons for all their classes for periods 1 – 3. Period 4 will be Form time, also on Teams. The school term will end as planned at 1.00pm on Friday. Staff will be taking registers for each lesson, as this is a morning where we expect students to attend their lessons, albeit remotely.
We ask, please, that in the lead up to Friday morning, you talk with your son/daughter and make sure that they are ready to access Teams and that they can also access their CHA email account. On Friday morning it will be vital for laptops/PCs/tablets to be fully charged for the morning’s usage.
For any IT issues please email ICT support: [email protected]
On Thursday afternoon students will, during period 5, be involved in a full school assembly through Teams within their form groups, in each of their form rooms. At this time we will celebrate the many successes of the term and focus on the significant achievements of our students in the past months. Students will finish at the normal time on Thursday.
This last minute Government announcement is not helpful to us or to you. Thank you in
advance for working around these changes and for ensuring that students will benefit from their teaching on Friday morning.
COVID UPDATE
Thank you to our parents for ensuring that all our students arrive at school with a mask. It is good to see more students wearing the washable design rather than a disposable type. I am sure the implemented risk assessment actions at CHA have contributed to the relatively low incidence of Covid cases within our community.
Over the weekend it was confirmed that a member of staff at CHA had tested positive for the virus. Our staff are taking the same precautions as young people. This week we have also had a case regarding a Y9 student. We sought advice from Public Health England in both of these instances. The member of staff concerned and some of our students in Y9 have been asked to self-isolate. We all need to continue to follow the Government advice in responding if we do have any of the key symptoms: a new continuous cough, a high temperature or a loss or change in our sense of taste or smell. Here is a reminder of how to get advice:
Calling the NHS the number is 111 or use the website at:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/check-if-you-have-coronavirus
-symptoms/
At the time of writing we have 36 students self-isolating across our school of 1,027 students. Work is being set on SMHW and this is then linked to their Teams account. Please do contact the relevant teacher if support is needed with the work being set.
Do please keep us informed, as many families are already, should you or your family have the virus symptoms or if you have a virus test. The email to use in this circumstance is:
CELEBRATION AND COMPASSION
On Monday we hope that many of our young people will bring in at least one item from the Chiltern Foodbank list. Items that are being requested are:
Tinned rice pudding Christmas treats Custard powder Christmas puddings Tinned custard Christmas cake Macaroni cheese Pickles
Tinned hot dogs Christmas crackers Tinned ham Sponge puddings Tinned salmon Tea, coffee
Shampoo Jam
Toothpaste Washing up liquid
We do however appreciate that not all families will be able to contribute to this worthy local support structure that is so important in these challenging times for so many families.
Dates for Your Diary
Date Event Email Address
14 December Senior Awards event, cancelled
17 December Normal school times (Note: Period 5 form time)
18 December Remote Learning Day
Last day of Autumn term, school closes at 1.00pm
4 January INSET DAY
5 January First day of Spring term
-Y7/Y11 8.35am, Y9/Y10 8.45am, Y8/Y12/Y13 8.55am
7 January Y8 introduced to the Options process [email protected] 13 January Y11 Art and Photography trip to London,
cancelled
14 January Y8 Parents’ Evening via Teams [email protected] 21 January Y11 GCSE Music recital, cancelled
Wellbeing
As the holiday season approaches, we wish all our families and students a festive and safe holiday.
For many people who celebrate Christmas, the last few weeks before 25 December can become overwhelming and especially this year with many people not celebrating Christmas as they traditionally would. The mental health charity, Mind, found that 1 in 10 people are unable to cope with this time of year, which in terms of numbers is over 6.65 million people.
Worries about money, loneliness, feeling surrounded, not meeting other peoples’ expectations are just some of the emotions that Christmas can trigger in many of us and these can be heightened when we are presented with images of Christmas being a magical time for people. This holiday season, whether you’re celebrate Christmas or not, is a great time to ramp up your self-care –be kind to yourself! It is important to prioritise your mental health and wellbeing. The following are a few ideas of how you can do that:
• Avoid unhelpful potentially harmful comparisons with others –it is so easy to compare what others have in their lives to what you have. Hard as it may be, focus on what is important to you and your family and think of the things that you truly value and cherish. • Often over festive dinners and when spending more time than normal with family
members and friends, arguments can arise –have realistic expectations about family gatherings, remember to look after yourself and if necessary leave the room if you need some time alone to ‘cool off’.
• Avoid getting in debt for this one day of the year –celebrate by enjoying time with your family members and doing simple things that have little, if any, cost. Manage friends and family’s expectations regarding gifts.
• Factor in some time that is just for you. Practice relaxation and mindfulness techniques. Try and keep many of your normal family routines so that you continue with a familiar structure and do things that you enjoy doing as an individual and as a family.
Giving your time and care can make a big difference to your own mental health and a few things that you can do are:
• Participate in local community projects or simply do something for your neighbours –it could be something as simple as putting their bin out or collecting something from the shop, or even just saying hello.
• Channel your inner child and spend some time connecting with your children –give them your presence as opposed to just presents. Play games, watch favourite films, cook, go for a walk or make decorations together.
• If you can donate to a food bank make it something a little bit special to give someone who is struggling a little bit of help.
• A little bit of kindness goes a very long way and can make a massive difference to people, so challenge yourself to undertake random acts of kindness.
Mrs S Keith
KS3 Wellbeing Lead
Mathematics
Sets and Progress ChecksIn the maths department the majority of our groups are set based, this is to ensure that each group receives the appropriate level of challenge and/or support that they need. Our groups remain flexible and fluid in that, if we feel a student is in the incorrect group, we will move them to a more appropriate group. Our decisions are based on a range of evidence including
observations in class of how the student is working, their attitude to learning and homework, how they are finding the concepts being taught and Progress Checks.
Progress Checks take place three times a year for each year group over a two week period. During this time your child or children will sit a test for each of their subjects and, as a school, we do expect your child to revise for these tests. It is from the Progress Check that your child receives an assessment based on how well they are doing against their end of year target as well as a Learning Grade and Homework Grade –please see an example below.
The dates for Progress Checks for next term are as follows:
With regards to Maths Progress Checks, they mainly consist of work the class has been taught from the start of the academic year but we also include questions that they have been taught in previous terms in order to support recall of prior learning but also, and more importantly, because many concepts of maths build upon each other. This changes when a student is in Year 11 and Year 13 and they will be set past exam papers for their Progress Checks.
As a department, we do regularly teach our students revision techniques and the majority of homework that is set supports the review of prior learning.
Questions or Queries
If you have any questions or queries regarding the teaching and learning of mathematics at CHA please contact the following members of staff:
KS3 (Years 7 and 8) or anything pertaining to the newsletter update Mrs Keith at [email protected]
KS4 (Years 9 to 11) and KS5 (Years 12 and 13) Mr Raju at [email protected]
Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13
Revision starts: Mon 8 Feb Mon 7 Dec Mon 1 Feb Mon 18 Jan Mon 8 Feb Mon 18 Jan Mon 8 Feb Assessment start date (two week period) Mon 1 March Tues 5 Jan Mon 22 Feb Mon 1 Feb Mon 3 March Mon 25 Feb Mon 1 March Subject Current Working Level Target End of Year 8
Status Learning
Grade
Homework Grade
Chiltern Hills Academy
Chartridge Lane
Chesham
Buckinghamshire
HP5 2RG
Telephone 01494 782066
Fax 01494 783185
[email protected]
www.chilternhillsacademy.co.uk
If the weather forecast indicates possible disruption, please check the Academy website. We will also endeavour to text parents to inform you if we are unable to open, so please ensure the Academy office has an up-to-date mobile contact number for you
Information about school closures across the county may be found at:
https://closures.buckscc.gov.uk/Search.aspx
