Newsletters

NEWSLETTER 23 - 1 April 2022

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you are all well, it’s certainly nice to back since having my two negative tests!

As you will know from my other communication, we are unfortunately continuing to experience high levels of staff absence due to Covid. We are desperately hoping that the Easter Holiday will provide a break to this pattern, so we can get back to full strength when we return.

This week has still seen a whole range of high quality lessons and activities, including the Year 11 football teams last ever match, which we won 7-1 against Matravers and an introduction to the National Citizen Service which can provide a fantastic experience to some of our older students.

Next week, we are looking forward to Thursday evening when our Easter Concert will take place. Students have been rehearsing very extensively, and we are really looking forward to this extravaganza….A Night at The Movies!

As always, I hope you have a relaxing weekend,

Paul Skipp

Headteacher

 


Dates for the Diary

Week 2
All Day
04
April
Year 12 Parents Evening
3:30pm – 6:30pm
06
April
Easter Concert - Holy Trinity Church
until 8:30pm
07
April
TERM 4 HOLIDAY
All Day
From 11 Apr until 22 Apr
11
April

Latest News

01 Apr 2022
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We have vacancies for examination invigilators to help ensure the smooth running of our school examinations.

If this casual work appeals to you please follow the link attached 

https://www.johnofgauntschool.org/page/?title=Vacancies&pid=20&action=saved


Free school meals payments/vouchers for the Easter holiday will be sent out at the end of next week.

There will be an additional daily free school meal payment for those year groups who have been asked to stay at home this term.

Finance Team


Unfortunately due to COVID-19 safety precautions, the Young Carers meeting on Monday 4th April has been cancelled. We will aim to run it again on Monday 25th April.

Apologies for any disappointment this may cause, but I feel it’s better to try and keep everyone safe and well for the Easter break.

Luisa Mitchell


STEM WEEK EXTRAVAGANZA 2022!                                                                     

Not only were years 7-9 seen enjoying a week of STEM challenges during British STEM week, but The John of Gaunt School were able to host this year’s primary science fair in Wingfield Hall. WOW! What an amazing effort from all the primary schools, as well as the STEM clubs from JoG and Clarendon.

We learnt how worms and ants reproduce and stay alive, how optical illusions work and how the ligaments and bones work in our hands. Thank you so much to all the fabulous primary schools who took the time to make their projects, travelled to the school and were able to speak so well to teachers, pupils and parents about what they had been doing.

Already we can’t wait for next year!

 


Bella Kingwell

Home Learning

We may have had to cancel our practical session this week, but with the support of our fantastic parents the lesson continued on at home! This week year 10 have been practising developing their skills, working at pace and styling their food products fit for a magazine cover and here are the fantastic results!

Well Done and what a proud Teacher I am!

Beef Burgers with soft Yeasty Dinner Rolls

Jakub Stanski
Matthew Hector

In the last ever match representing John of Gaunt, the year 11’s went out in style with a massive 7-1 win vs Matravers.

The team captained by Cori Brewer were off to a strong start with a goal in the first 2 minutes, and from that moment on the team couldn’t be stopped, with a penalty from Jack Devion on his debut match there was no stopping the boys, final score was 7-1, but it could have easily been more.

Overall it was a great atmosphere and the songs on the bus were enough to make the music department jealous. Well done this season and from the PE department we hope your exams go as well as your football results.

Always a pleasure, Mr Mockett


This week during STEM club... the students extracted copper from copper oxide!


Tonight, we had our final KS3 netball training & it was a pleasure to see so many students enjoying themselves on the court and demonstrating everything they’ve learnt.

We have had a great season with lots of new faces joining us! We look forward to next year when it starts again but for the mean time, we have rounders, athletics & cricket after half-term! We finish with our Y7 tournament next week.

We are very proud of each & every one of our students that represented us this year! Well done. 

Miss Lewis & Mrs Acheson




National Citizen Service (NCS)

We are excited to be working with the National Citizen service (NCS) this year to deliver an unforgettable summer experience for students in year 11.

NCS programmes offer young people a once in a lifetime opportunity to do something incredible in their summer break, and to have experiences and develop skills they can rely on during university, apprenticeships, and their career.

NCS lasts 2 weeks (Monday – Friday), during which participants will go on a five-day residential, meet new people, try activities ranging from kayaking to rock-climbing, take on new challenges and develop the skills and confidence to take on their next steps. They will also get their chance to give back to their local community through their own social action project. A place on NCS is worth around £1200. However, thanks to government funding for the programme, NCS will only ask for a contribution of £50 to cover some basic costs, with bursaries available as well.

There are plenty of start dates to choose from, so go to wearencs.com to find your space, and encourage your teen to sign up for a summer they will not forget!

Matt Purdy

NCS South West Sales Coordinator



Virtual tuition sessions for GCSE students presented by Tassomai teachers!

Tassomai are trialling 'Live Lessons' over the Easter holidays.

They've finalised the schedule and will be running 9 sessions for Year 11 students from 5-21 April.

Tricky topics identified by Tassomai usage dataLive Lessons presented by Tassomai teachers

Their free, 45-minute Zoom-based lessons will focus on topics that they know (from usage data) that Tassomai students find difficult. If there's enough interest they plan to run more Live Lessons After Easter.

Please click on the link below to see the schedule.

Learn more & view the Live Lessons schedule


Supporting careers education, information, advice and guidance at JoG

Talk CAREERS with your child

A comprehensive guide featuring: Interview preparation, why we need to get talking about money, Work readiness and Wellbeing, Encouraging your child to take up work experience, Post 16 & 18 options, Exam stress & MUCH MORE!

To access your free March 2022 edition, follow the link:

https://careermap.co.uk/careermag-parents/

 

 

Work Experience - Y12 - 4-8 July and Y10 – 18-21 July

With the Easter Holidays approaching please continue to seek a work placement. ANY placement is going to provide valuable experience of the world of work, so please ask, friends, family, neighbours, friends of friends! 

If you're a parent who works in an industry that might be able to offer a JoG student a placement, please contact Alynch@jogschool.org 

Virtual Work Experience opportunities

Opportunties to gain valuable employment and career industry insights online. Some starting over Easter in areas such as Nursing, Accountancy, TV and Film, Law, Teaching, Finance, Property and more  https://www.springpod.com/virtual-work-experience

Apprenticeships

Currently, there are 100+ apprenticeships within a 10-mile radius of our school.  Some with start dates after the exams season. https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeshipsearch

For any support with careers and next steps, please e-mail the school careers adviser alynch@jogschool.org