19/11/2021 Headteacher’s Blog – Exciting Times!

Friday 19th November, 2021

It has been an exciting couple of weeks at school, with lots of activities happening.  It is wonderful to see our extra-curricular clubs back up and running and to see the work we are doing on vocational curriculum.  Please do encourage your child to make the most of the activities that are on offer.

There is also an update on our reading challenge.  Reading is a top priority for all students this year and we hope that your child will engage with the books they are reading at school and also try out some new books at home!

Fabulous Football Teams

The year 7 and 8 girls football team took part in a girl’s football tournament against 5 other schools, the girls showed their skills and excellent team spirit skills!  Working as a team to support one another.  Our final game in the tournament was Year 7 vs Year 8 and ended with Year 7 winning 2-1. 

Year 8

Congratulations to our year 8 football team for getting their first win of the season against Grace Academy.  The team showed excellent team spirit and played some great football throughout. It has been a tough start for our year 8 team due to the Covid restrictions last year, but they are just finding their feet and I have no doubt they will go on to be a fantastic team.

Year 11

Our year 11 team have had a great start to the football season, they have won 5 out of 6 games. They are currently in round 3 of the Birmingham and West Midlands cup and top of the Solihull cup league.

Aladdin!

At last a production!  It’s been a long time coming with the pandemic but there’s a real buzz amongst staff and students alike as we embark upon our next school production, the very famous Disney classic, Aladdin!  Auditions have taken place and rehearsals are about to start!  We can’t wait for you to join us on our magical carpet ride!  The performances will take place on 30th, 31st March & 1st April 2022.  Tickets will be available after Christmas.

Guinea Pig Club

Our newest additions Paddington and Marmalade are settling well, Guinea Pig club has been a hit at lunch times and supporting students through positive wellbeing activities. Students have been looking after all their needs including cleaning them out every day!

Charity Day – Children in Need

Friday 26th November is non uniform day in aid of Children In Need a £1.00 donation can be paid through parent pay.  The phase 3 leadership team will be holding a quiz in the main hall to get entry tickets they must be purchased from the school shop at the link below.  Back by popular demand sponge a teach is back with participants including Mr Smith-Childs, Mr Howard, Mr Owen, Miss Blunt and many more.  To get tickets for sponge a teach please follow the link below or go through the school website.

https://app.parentpay.com/ParentPayShop/Uniform/Default.aspx?shopid=1030

Alternative curriculum

It’s been a positive start for the Shining Bright Futures on delivering their alternative curriculum programme for year 7, 8 and 9.  Over the last 2 weeks the small teams of 6 have been baking, creating and physically working towards their NCFE accredited certificates.

Year 7 having been brushing up on their culinary skills whilst studying different cooking methods to create soups, pizzas and desserts to date. Year 8s have been designing garden furniture from recycled wood pallets that will be situated in the year 9 Well-being Garden.

Year 9’s are getting hands on with nature regenerating an allotment area that once flourished at the back of the art block.  They are currently in the process of clearing the land and will be looking to produce some flower beds and a well-being garden for students to utilise in the summer months.

School Games

So far in the School Games competitions we have taken part in year 7 dodgeball and year 7/8 rowing winning 1X Gold, 3X Silver and 1X Bronze!  We also had our first netball game of the season with both our year 9 and 10 teams winning their game.

Children’s University 

In terms of enrichment we have had 11501 students attending various clubs in the last 2 months.

So far we have 214 year 7-9 students signed up to the Children’s University and details for their passports have now been given out. 10 students already have over 10 hours logged and are well on their way to achieving their undergraduate bronze award!  See Miss Holland in the Library Thursday to log your hours.

Future Prospects

We have 10 Year 11 students taking part in Future Prospects course. This is a new course is being ran in partnership with School Games.  The aim of the course is to develop leadership through running events, attending development courses and working alongside a partnership school.  So far students are midway through stage 1, and are designing, marketing and judging a virtual competition.

The Coleshill Reading Challenge

The Coleshill Reading Challenge is underway, with every student starting their novels in Tutor Reading time.  With stories ranging from murder mysteries, dragon quests, escape adventures, moral dilemmas and plans to deal with the end of the world, our Reading Challenge is helping students explore the world beyond their classroom, expand their vocabularies and build their confidence in their reading power. We’ve already seen groups making art work inspired by their novels, and with opportunities to rewrite, adapt and film their own versions over the year, we look forward to fuelling the imagination of the next generation of artists, directors and novelists with our challenges!

Remembrance

As always we remembered the fallen on 11th November at school, which is such as special event.  We had to have the service broadcast to classrooms, hopefully for the last time.  I was privileged to part of the parade and service at Coleshill on Sunday where it was good to see so many families paying their respects.

Wishing you a peaceful weekend

Ian Smith-Childs

Headteacher