Newsletter October 2017 Dear Parent/ Carer It is hard to believe that we have already been back at school over a month. Although it already seems a long time ago, we are still very proud of the academic successes of our students in the summer, since good GCSE and A Level results provide the passport to the next stage in a young person s education or career. In this regard we were pleased to learn recently that our provisional Progress 8 score is +0.40, which should put us in the top 10-15% of secondary schools for progress between KS2 SATS and GCSEs, whilst at A Level the progress of our students will probably put us in the top 5-10% of schools and sixth form colleges. If anything, however, we are even more proud of our students for their achievements outside the classroom, whether that be demonstrated through the wonderful Sports Awards event in September, our current position as the top school in Southwark for students completing the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award (even ahead of the local private schools), or the current auditions for the KS4/5 play, The Caucasian Chalk Circle. I am also greatly looking forward to hearing from our Year 8 students about their experiences at the upcoming Dorset Residential Trip, where for the first time we hope to have virtually the whole year group in attendance. The financial difficulties that all state schools face is now well-known, but at The Charter School we will always try our hardest to promote the importance of artistic, cultural and sporting activities within education. We are also immensely grateful to the support of parents and carers in ensuring that students come to school ready to learn in a calm, focused and purposeful learning environment. As we approach half term, it looks like the outstanding behaviour of our students means that they have gained more house points and other rewards but far fewer sanctions than at the same time last year. Thank you for your ongoing support in this area, which provides such an important foundation to the overall success of the school. Yours faithfully OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER KEY DATES Thursday 12th October: Y11 Achievement Evening Wednesday 18th October: Y13 Achievement Evening Thursday 19th October: Y9 Options Information Evening Monday 23rd Friday 27th October: HALF TERM Monday 30th October: INSET DAY Wednesday 1st November: Friends Committee meeting Thursday 9th November: 6th FORM OPEN EVENING Wednesday 22nd November: Y12 Achievement Evening Christian Hicks Headteacher Thursday 23rd November: The Charter School Christmas Fair Friday 1st December: INSET DAY Friday 8th December: Careers Fair Y9 Y13 PLEASE CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND UPDATES 1
Black History Month October sees the Charter School celebrate Black History Month. Students will participate in a variety of activities including workshops at the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton and screenings of the films Selma and Hidden Figures. Pupils will also lead special tutor sessions and take part in lessons that give them the opportunity to recognise, appreciate and celebrate our diverse community. A list of events across Southwark can be found online at: www.southwark.gov.uk/ events-culture-andheritage/creativesouthwark/projects-andprogrammes/festivals-and -events/black-historymonth Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme It has been a very successful year for students taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. The Silver and Gold teams finished and passed their Qualifying Expeditions in Dartmoor National Park last month congratulations to all participants. The plans are now in place for the DofE Program this Year. We will once again be offering the award program at all levels; Bronze, Silver and Gold and information regarding participation will be shared with the relevant year groups. You can keep up to date with all our DofE news by following @tcs_dukeofedinburgh on Instagram. 2
TCS Saturday Sports Academy Sports News This autumn sees the launch of Sports Academy sessions happening on Saturdays. These 1.5 or 2hr long sessions in Volleyball and/or Basketball will introduce your child to a new sport or increase their ability if they already play. The sessions will include enhanced coaching, strength and conditioning training, match and tournament play. For more information contact Mr Weninger: SWeninger@charter.southwark.sch.uk Sports Awards 2017 Friday 22nd September saw a packed assembly hall as over 200 people gathered to celebrate the last year s sporting achievements at The Charter School. Over 50 awards were given out to individuals and teams across the school. Congratulations to this year s Sports Personalities of the Year, Nancy Laurenson (Y9) and Albie Oliver (Y10) and the Team of the Year (and unbeaten Surrey Champions) the U13 Boys Indoor Cricket team. 3
Library news October 2017 Author Visits On Monday 25th September we welcomed author A F Harrold to talk to all of Year 7 pupils. In our Library Gift Book project we had given every incoming Year 7 student a copy of A F Harrold s book THE SONG FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE to read over the holidays so it was a real treat for the pupils to meet the author in person. National Poetry Day To celebrate National Poetry day on September 28th, The Charter School welcomed writer, theatre-maker, performer and musician, Jemima Foxtrot, and poet, Arielle John. They performed for all pupils in years 7 to 9. 4 The Reading Garden The Reading Garden will be open at lunchtimes from Mon 2 Oct with a brand new shed in situ and some new raised beds just waiting to be sown. We also hope to be planting some new fruit trees over the coming weeks. The Reading Garden has been developed so that students and staff can escape the hustle and bustle of the playground in an oasis of calm! We also have library lessons in the garden, weather permitting! A huge thank you to The Friends of The Charter School for supporting this project! 4
A great start and a warm welcome We have all been pleased to see how well our new Year 7 pupils have adapted to life at The Charter School. As we all know this is a huge step up from what they have been used to at primary school and we are certain that some of our younger pupils are feeling quite tired at the end of the day! We have also welcomed over 60 students into Year 12 from other schools, and again they have impressed staff with how quickly they have settled in. On 27th September and 5th October we welcomed over 2500 new visitors to the school across our two Open Day events. The comments we received from prospective parents and carers, as they met our pupils and saw the work they have produced across the school, serve as an additional reminder of how proud we are of our wonderful pupils and fantastic staff. ITV Marketing Director visits TCS Rufus Radcliffe, Group Marketing Director of ITV, came in to speak to the sixth form about his career and how ITV has reinvented itself for the digital age. Students were entertained and informed about the challenges faced by one of our oldest TV brands in the face of online and on-demand competition. Careers and University show 25 Y11 students enjoyed a morning at the What Career/What University Live show at Olympia where they were able to meet over 100 exhibitors from Universities, employers and careers advisers. This was the first in a number of trips this term where students from Years 10-13 will be given the opportunity to explore further and higher education options as well as various career pathways and apprenticeships. Can you help to inspire the next generation? Thank you to all parents and carers who have already volunteered to help at various career information events throughout the year. It is only with your help that we can provide such a wide range of sessions that help to inspire pupils as they look towards life after school. There is still time to get involved - please email Shalene Varcoe at: SVarcoe@charter,southwark.sch.uk if you would like to help. Year 10 Work Experience Y10 will receive their work experience packs on Friday 13th October these will also be uploaded to the VLE. Parents of Y10 students are reminded to : Sign the permission forms on the VLE Go through the packs with your children Any questions? Please email: SVarcoe@charter.southwark.sch.uk 5
Friends of the Charter School Christmas Fair - Thursday 23rd November The Christmas Fair is rapidly approaching and we are now recruiting for volunteers for the following Christmas Fair jobs, so please do see if you or anyone you know could help to: - Have a Hamptons board up to promote the Christmas Fair - Secure tombola prizes and chocolate donations for the Christmas Fair ( from now until half term particularly) - Make pompoms to decorate the school on evening of 16th November - Volunteer to distribute fliers about the fair on your street - Donate nearly new books - Help on the afternoon/evening of the fair to organise the stallholders/other jobs - Help on the book stall, food stall and other Friends stalls on the night Please email Friends@charter.southwark.sch.uk if you can assist and someone will be in touch. Help raise funds from the comfort of your armchair! You can still raise funds for the Friends of The Charter School throughout the year simply by shopping online via Easy Fundraising: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/ causes/fothecharterschool/ So far 87 supporters of this scheme have already raised nearly 850 so if you shop online please have a look, register and start helping 6
Notices Homework Club 3-4pm every afternoon in the library. Staff are on hand to help with any homework problems!! School Stationery Shop Forgotten or lost your stationery? Now you can purchase replacement items in the Library every morning from 08:00 to 08:25. Over 250 raised for Macmillan Cancer Ms Harris organised a cake sale in school for the World s Biggest Coffee Morning, in aid of Macmillan Cancer. Helped by students and staff, the cake sale raised 257 for the charity. Price List: Biro 10p Pencil 10p Eraser 10p Pack of Coloured Pencils 1.50 Pencil Sharpener 20p Pair Compasses 30p 30cm Ruler 20p Protractor 20p Calculator 7:00 News from Remembering Herne Hill 1914-18 The Remembering Herne Hill 1914-18 project is now underway. It is being run jointly by the Herne Hill Society and The Charter School. The school s involvement will be led by our Head of History, Dan Townsend, who has experience of leading a successful heritage project as co-founder of Herts of War in 2012. To achieve its objective this project needs the involvement of as many people as possible in the local area, in many different ways. Every contribution will help - a photograph or a small snippet of family history may prove to be extremely useful so if you know someone who might like to join in, or who might have information of interest, please ask them to email memorial@hernehillsociety.org.uk. 7 7