Tong High School SPRING 2014 EDITION 1 www.tongschool.co.uk Tong High School wins the Micro-Tyco Enterprise Challenge! P5 In this edition: Keep up TO DATE with all the news and views from Tong High School P3 P4 P6...International Women s Day Stand Up, Speak Out... Options Evening in March...
Hello Welcome to VisiON the brand new Tong High School magazine which will help students, parents and others keep up to date with all the news and views from the school. VisiON will be published 3 times a year at Easter, Summer and Christmas. This first edition takes a look at some of the amazing things which have been happening over the past couple of months. Many stories in this edition demonstrate our PRIDE values and our vision to be at the heartbeat of a powerful network in which everyone involved thrives on the challenge to improve and get better every day. Our main story is about the Micro-Tyco enterprise challenge (page 5). We were delighted to win the Schools Category of February 2014 s Micro-Tyco challenge and ecstatic to find out that we had come third in the overall competition. As part of this month long project students were mentored by staff from the Deloitte Leeds office alongside school staff. We also read about how we were the first school in the North to be accredited as a CITB CSkills Awards Delivery Centre (page 3) this project started in 2012 with help from local businesses converting our disused caretaker s house into a Construction Centre. This term we also hosted a fantastic Options Evening (page 6) where current Year 8 and 9 students and their families had the opportunity to talk to representatives from Tong, Tong Sixth Form, local universities and employers to inform them about their next steps, career options and hopefully inspire them to be the best they can be in order to reach their full potential. These stories are just a taster of some of the powerful networks which we are building here at Tong High School. We see the success of the school being significantly enhanced through the quality of our organic influential networks and partnerships. I hope that you enjoy reading VisiON. Thank you for your continued support. Many Thanks Stephen Curran, Head teacher Calendar 7th May Year 8 Consultation Evening 21st May Year 9 Consultation Evening 6th June Rock Challenge Northern Final 27th June Year 11 Prom 28th June Year 12 and 13 Prom 2nd July Community Open Evening 9th July Year 7 Consultation Evening 18th July Last Day of Term Year 11 Prom The prom will be on the 27th June at Rio Grande and is 25 per ticket. For more information please see Miss Bebb in the Year 11 office.
SPRING 2014 EDITION 1 LATEST NEWS > Improve the Gateways Some of our Year 12 and 13 students have won the Gateways competition. This was a competition to work with a local artist to improve the Gateways in to Bradford. Their design work was be based on three themes they thought important - healthy living, integration and green spaces and were completed with local sculptor Craig Dyson. Their designs have been approved by Bradford Council and will now be used in Knowles Park. Tong High School is the first school in the North to be accredited as a CITB CSkills Awards Delivery Centre! Tong Hosts an Event with Inspirational Apprentice Finalist to Celebrate International Women s Day To celebrate International Women s Day we hosted an internal event for staff and sixth form students with guest speaker BBC Apprentice finalist, Claire Young. Claire joined staff and students at Tong High School for afternoon tea and the opportunity to talk about what she is doing to inspire young girls, between the ages of 13 and 18, to raise their work and life goals and aspirations. Being a teenage girl in the world today is a challenge. Girls Out Loud is a social enterprise which Claire Young launched to empower and inspire teenage girls in the UK and beyond to have confidence, self-belief, emotional resilience and a positive self-image which, in turn, supports them to think big, embrace risk and reach for the stars. Claire says; I am truly passionate about helping to nurture young people s talents and ambitions to help them channel their energies in a positive manner. Back in 2012, with help from local businesses and organisations, the disused caretaker s house was transformed into the Tong High School Construction Centre. This centre has now been accredited as a CITB CSkills Awards (awarding organisation of CITB) delivery centre approved by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) and is the first school in the North of England to deliver the new entry level suite of qualifications. In 2011, Tong High School started conversations with The Moortown Group as both parties were passionate to provide the future generations with essential knowledge and skills to help them build a career in the construction industry. In March 2012, Tong High School in partnership with Moortown Construction launched the Classroom in Construction scheme. The Tong High School Construction Centre was built in partnership with; leading building and civil engineering company Moortown Construction, Rex Procter and Partners, Pitts Wilson Electrical and NG Bailey. The companies worked together to transform the disused caretaker s house on the school site into a real building site, allowing pupils the opportunity to develop practical skills in a real-life construction environment. As a result, the Tong High School Construction Centre has now been accredited as a CITB Cskills Awards delivery centre. We were shortlisted in the finals... for the achievement category and received a highlight commended award at the Bradford T&A School Awards 2014. Tong was nominated by a local resident for been named as a accredited delivery centre by the Construction Industry Training Board. 03
Connecting Classrooms The Connecting Classrooms model has been developed to connect teachers with students in other countries and develop connections between secondary and primary schools in the UK. This scheme is for both students and teachers and improves cultural awareness and develops global awareness. A couple of years ago students from Tong High School had a week long visit to Masaka Secondary School in Uganda. This year, Tong High School is running after school sessions, (every Thursday between 2:15-3:15) to give students a chance to develop their knowledge on education in Uganda (and also in Nigeria). Students will spend time re-searching, writing diary extracts and developing creative skills in the form of school and student profiles. Year 8 student Thandie Nsingo (left) was a host at the VIP opening of the Anne Frank exhibition at Kala Sangam Stand Up, Speak Out, Make a Difference Tong s Humanities department is also running a Debate Club, geared around encouraging students to build their debating skills. At the moment, a small group of year 7 s are working with a sixth-from leader to develop argument and debate skills which will benefit them in later life. The Debate Club is based in the Humanities department on Wednesday afternoon between 2:30 and 3:30. Tong High School students are supporting The Anne Frank [+ you] exhibition at Kala Sangam, Bradford. Over 20 Tong Year 8 students have been trained up to be Anne Frank ambassadors and have been guiding school parties and visitors around the exhibition. At the official launch night Year 8 students greeted VIP guests including national representatives from the Anne Frank Trust, the Lord Mayor and other high profile councillors and council directors. Guests were also treated to a dramatic performance piece by Tong High School s Ignite Theatre Group. Lakeside Challenge Wembley... Twelve Tong High School students qualified to attend the second Youth Sports Trust Young Ambassador Celebration Day at Wembley Stadium on Monday 24th March 2014. The Youth Sport Trust second Young Ambassador Celebration Day brought together the best of the best Young Ambassadors from secondary schools across England. This event is an opportunity to showcase the outstanding Young Ambassadors and the contribution they make to PE and school sport. In February 2014, Ms Tolan organised a Lakeside Challenge at Newby Bridge in Cumbria for some Year 9 students. This course enabled students to develop life skills including: effective team skills, leadership, communication, planning and decisionmaking. It also helped them gain a greater level of confidence as they developed new skills in a range of outdoor activities.
SPRING 2014 EDITION 1 Tong High School wins the Micro-Tyco Enterprise Challenge! Tong High School has won the Schools Category of February 2014 s Micro-Tyco challenge mentored by staff from the Deloitte Leeds office and school staff. The school was also third in the overall competition having generated 3657.06 from a 1 investment from the WildHearts charity. Teams that enter Micro-Tyco receive 1 in seed capital which they are challenged to turn into as much money as possible, using any legal means, in just four weeks. The scheme encourages team work and entrepreneurial spirit, with funds invested in micro-finance for micro-entrepreneurs in developing countries. Helen Kaye, CSR and Global Employer Services partner at Deloitte, said: It s fantastic to see this programme drive such success with some truly innovative ideas, which in turn deliver tangible benefits for society. We are proud to be working with Teach First and Micro-Tyco to support students - mentoring them in entrepreneurship, employability skills and career opportunities. We are proud to make use of the full spectrum of our firm s capabilities to encourage the development of students at Tong High School. Fifteen staff from Deloitte have been working with pupils from Tong High School since November last year, through the Deloitte Access Programme, in partnership with Teach First. The Micro-Tyco team from Tong High School was made up of 26 students and six staff who were mentored by Deloitte coaches. The mentoring included a brainstorming session to generate ideas, planning, business and pricing advice, providing structure and focus for the project, plus being a sounding board for the team. Steve Curran, Head Teacher, Tong High School said: I would like to thank students, staff, Deloitte mentors and our partner organisations who together have made this enterprise challenge a huge success - we are delighted with this result. The students worked extremely hard on the enterprise project and this opportunity has enabled them to practice and learn fundamental business concepts in a micro-environment. Throughout this process our students have been inspired to learn and have developed their entrepreneurial thinking. We look forward to taking part in the challenge again in the future. WildHearts Founder and Micro-Tyco creator Mick Jackson said: Micro-Tyco is pioneering Inner Change, Local Change Throughout this process our students have been inspired to learn and have developed their entrepreneurial thinking. and Global Change through compassionate entrepreneurship. It unites everyone from our children to our corporate executives with the vision that business can and must be a force for good. Deloitte share that vision and it s fantastic to see them taking it into schools across the country. The outstanding effort from Tong High School will fund 73 micro-businesses in the developing world every year whilst inspiring school children across the UK to become Global Ethical Investors too. 05
Y9 74% (200 students) Y8 67% (151 students) Options Evening in March... Thank you to all the Year 8 and 9 families who attended the Options Evening on Wednesday 19th March. Prior to this event we have done lots of work in school about choices, careers and interests. As in previous years students had the opportunity to explore their current options but they could also talk to representatives from local universities, Tong Sixth Form and local and national employers. The Options Evening was a great opportunity for students and their families to together find out more about career routes, education pathways and make informed choices about their next steps and which subjects they would like to study at GCSE level. Guest speaker Paul Mackie spoke about choices he had made and his story from struggling student to Chairman at Rex Procter and Partners and President of Bradford Chamber of Commerce. All option forms have now been completed and submitted and we will confirm your options during the summer term. I really enjoyed the event and believe it was a great success. I was so impressed to see how organised the event was, so credit goes to you all. I must say it s a pleasure to work with you, thanks for all your hard work and support. Nazmun Khan, GEM Programme Tong High School is really good for my child and it has made his achievements and all off his work 100 times better. I think the evening really helped me and my child together choose and consider his choices. Parent I think that the evening went well and made the students think and feel about getting a great job and career if they keep going. Parent Congratulations on the event; it looked fantastic and it was great to see such a range of businesses there. Janette Gudgeon, E3 Bradford Enterprise Q: Did you feel that your child has been Q: Did you feel that we have supported you supported through the options process? as a family through the options process? YES 92.90% NO 3.60% UNSURE 3.60% YES 89.30% NO 0% UNSURE 10.70%
SPRING 2014 EDITION 1 ilearn in Love to Learn Do you need a quiet place to work? Do you want help with your homework? Do you find it difficult to revise? Do you struggle to get computer or internet access? Could you use help from specially trained older students? Every Monday-Friday from 2.30-3.30pm the Love to Learn will be open to students from all year groups. Every night there will be trained tutors, ICT, ipads, Kindles, homework support, revision support and refreshments! Developing Lifelong Readers and Learners with Accelerated Reading All learning starts with reading. Reading is a skill and, as with every skill, requires not just instruction but practice. Accelerated Reader (AR) enables powerful practice by providing data to monitor and personalise reading activities and reinforce the understanding of content-area topics. The importance of reading cannot be overstated, which is why we use the Renaissance Learning software specifically designed to help students of all ages and abilities learn to read and read to learn even when English is a second language. We are currently running the Accelerated Reader programme with all students in Year 7, 8 and 9. Accelerate Progress in Maths In March twelve Year 9 students attended a session at Future House to enhance their reasoning and problem solving skills to accelerate progress in maths. Students worked alongside other students from Dixon s Academy and presented their findings to staff from Future House who organised the event. Students from Year 7 and 8 will have the opportunity to attend a similar session after Easter. Attendance For our students to gain the greatest benefit from their education it is vital that they attend regularly and that they are in school and on time every day the school is open. ANYONE COULD BE A WINNER, THEY JUST NEED TO BE IN SCHOOL! To reward students who have good attendance during the academic year we regularly hand out certificates, prizes and host attendance trips. Beat the Record day End of Term Trip 100% Bronze Certificates Attendance Friday On Beat the Record day we check the school attendance for Years 7-11. We then compare this attendance with all the other same days of the week since the start of the school year. If the attendance on Beat the Record day is better than any of the other days we will play Beat the Record. The classroom will be announced over the tannoy system. The attendance team will visit the classroom where a winner will be selected by drawing a number and matching that number to a student on the register. That student will receive a 30 voucher of their choice. The next Beat the Record Day is 14th May 2014. The tutor groups with the best attendance are invited on a trip on the last day of each term. In December students went to Hollywood Bowl in Bradford where they enjoyed several games of bowling and lunch. On 10th April students went to Thornbury Cinema to view Captain America or Muppets Most Wanted. These trips are free of charge. All students in the winning tutor groups must have a personal attendance of 90% or above. 264 students were awarded a Bronze attendance certificate, lapel pin badge and cash reward for achieving 100% attendance for the Autumn Term September to December 2013. Silver & Gold certificates will be awarded for Spring & Summer Terms later in the year. All students who have attended every Friday since September 2013 are entered into a draw. Each Year Group draw a student at random and the student receives a cash reward. Fifteen students have won cash prizes ranging from 5 to 19. 07
Get in touch... You can reach the Main Reception via any of the following methods: Write to: Tong High School, Westgate Hill Street, Bradford BD4 6NR Call: 01274 681455 Email: office@tongschool.co.uk Tong High School @Tong_HighSchool www.facebook.com/officialtonghighschool www.tongschool.co.uk Year 11 - The Final Countdown We understand that exams can be scary and stressful and as a Year 11 team we want to help you prepare and ensure that you are confident and that nothing will be able to stop you! In January we introduced Period 7 to ensure that together we maximised your potential and help you to prepare in order to achieve the best possible grades across all subjects. We also have been preparing in class and hosting additional revision sessions for Year 11 students. Parents and carers play a very important role in supporting students in their attendance, revision and helping students to perform well in exams and their involvement can make an enormous difference to the students overall success. What Next? The Year 11 team suggest that you use feedback from your mocks to pinpoint your revision. Use the results to motivate yourself to improve or take confidence that you are on track to achieve. Attend school every day from now until your last exam! Make sure you use your time left in school effectively! Be on time to every lesson and concentrate in class. Do not preventing others from learning and reaching their potential. Follow the advice given by staff and ask questions. Use every opportunity after school to give yourself the best chance! Period 7 s, revision nights, revision weekends, Easter holiday sessions Are you using your time at home effectively? Do you have a revision timetable? Are you using online revision tools? Use alternative ways to revise Mind Maps, pictures, test cards, teach your parents the topics, making a story out of things to remember, making up acronyms, songs/raps, make a sound bite (See Mr Ford for a list of different ways to revise). During the week before the examinations make sure that you get plenty of exercise and sleep. Use some of the time to refresh your memory on a few of the difficult or essential points but don t overdo it. The night before the exam make sure that you have all your examination equipment ready, make sure you know where to be, which room and what time and try to do something you really enjoy doing, try to relax and get an early night. Do your best! Be positive go in to the exam thinking about passing with good grades. Never go in an exam afraid that you might fail. After all you ve worked hard, so you deserve a good grade! Look forward to the prom, the long summer, the fantastic results day and the fabulous opportunities to come as a result of your hard work! Good Luck! Tong High School s Performing Arts Stars help raise over 1,200 to support The Joseph Lillywhite Appeal Thank you to all who donated at our production In the Mix that took place on 17th and 18th December. In the Mix opened each night with a festive market and was followed by a number of performances from past and present Tong students, primary schools and some brave members of staff who performed the Tong Panto! The event was brought together by the school s Performing Arts department and raised a grand total of 1250.00 for The Joseph Lillywhite Appeal. Sally Harrington, Performing Arts Curriculum Leader says; As a school our chosen charities are Cancer Research and the Teenage Cancer Trust. I am a family friend of the Lillywhite s and can t begin to imagine what the family are going through. After a discussion with staff and students we decided to put on our show In the Mix to raise money for the appeal. I am so thankful to Tong High School and grateful for all who donated and made this event such a success. Helen Lillywhite on behalf of Joseph Lillywhite s Journey says; Thank you for raising a fantastic amount of money during your school production in support of Joseph. What a lovely thing to do. We are touched by your generosity and kindness in extending such a lifeline to children with neuroblastoma. To find out more please visit: www.justgiving.com/josephlillywhite or follow his journey on his Facebook page: www.facebook.com/josephlillywhite.