New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Principal: Mrs Jane Brown Associate Principal: Mrs Rose Angus Outstanding Progress for All Parental Newsletter Thank you for your continued support over the last half-term. We are finally getting to the end of our building programme and we are delighted that we will finally be able to use our new entrance off Glenfield Road after half-term. This terms some parents/carers have requested clarification regarding our uniform expectations so we have enclosed these with this newsletter. They are also available on our website. I hope that is helpful to you. We hope that you have a lovely break and we look forward to seeing the students again on Monday 23rd February at 9 am. Mrs J Brown Our new entrance is finally finished!! From Monday 23rd February all parents and visitors will enter the school via the new Glenfield Road entrance where our new Main Reception is based. Students and staff will still use the Greencoat Road entrance as normal. Our new address from 23rd February is: New College Leicester Glenfield Road Leicester LE3 6DN Our telephone number stays the same at 0116 231 8500. We look forward to welcoming you to our new Reception. Contact Details New College Leicester Greencoat Road Leicester LE3 6RN Tel: 0116 231 8500 Fax: 0116 232 2286 The new south building has now been revealed! PARENT PAY SYSTEM Please be aware that ALL trips/visits need to be paid for using this system. See inside for more details... Email: enquiries@newcollege.leicester. sch.uk Website: www.newcollege.leicester. sch.uk Follow us on Twitter: February 2015 New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All is back on and will be taking place on the 30th April and is for our highest achieving students. The challenge involves answering 25 multiple choice questions in one hour under exam conditions. Watch out for further information, coming soon…! DON’T FORGET… Revision classes with Mrs Adeniyan: The following students achieved GRADE A maths grades during their recent mock exam so a big well done to them! Barbaros Burunsuzoglu Jack Mcdonald Kacper Nowacki Georgina Athanasou Turner Tuesday – Year 10 – 3:15 – 4pm Jordan Cave Wednesday – Year 9 – 3:15 – 4pm Sean Nethercot Thursday – Year 11 - 3:15 – 4pm On 11th December, students from Years 8, 9 and 10 went on a trip to watch Mockingjay Part 1 at Vue cinema. This trip was organised by the English staff. It was an opportunity for students to gain a further insight into the storyline after The Hunger Games, which is being studied in English lessons. The students really enjoyed the film. New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All 143 students from Years 7, 8 and 9 will now see their writing published. Students entered for the Young Writers’ national writing competition - Mini Monologues. This is the second time this academic year that New College Leicester students’ work has been selected for publication. Thirty-five students from Year 9 and 10 had their poems published in The Poetry Games, poets from the East Midlands. In this latest success, students were challenged to write a monologue in just a hundred words, adopting the persona of someone who inspires them. Some of the inspirations chosen by the students were Jennifer Lawrence, David Beckham and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. Now their work will appear in Young Writers Mini Monologues – Mini Marvels book, available across the UK from March 31. Our talented writers Commenting on all the entries received Jenni Bannister, Managing Editor of Young Writers commented: “Students wrote from the point of view of someone who inspires or intrigues them and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading every entry!” English teacher at New College Leicester, Mrs Penim, remarked: “It is a pleasure watching New College Leicester students’ hard work, motivation and creativity be rewarded with something as worthy as being published.” The English teachers at New College Leicester encouraged pupils to use their imagination and express this in their monologues and they’re extremely proud of the students’ creativity and their unique styles of writing. We are so proud to have this in the Leicester Mercury! New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All Girls Interschool Physics Challenge at the University of Nottingham On Thursday 15th January, eight Year 10 girls participated as two teams against 12 other schools, to create a heat shield. They also listened to a range of lectures. The first lecture of the day focused on specific heat capacity; where each team had to work out the specific heat capacity of 1 litre of water being boiled in a kettle. Our girls proved to be well up for the challenge and quickly worked out an answer, which was extremely close to the true value. Then came the big challenge – creating the heat shield. As it takes 4 minutes for reentry to the Earth’s atmosphere, it was imperative that the shield could last this long. All they were given was three 8 cm by 8 cm squares made of either aluminium, copper mesh or steel mesh and a pair of scissors. The purpose of the task was to protect the glue attaching a bolt to a piece of wooden dowel, for a minimum of 4 minutes. But, there was so many issues to be faced – how would they join each material together? How would they attach the shield to the bolt? Which order to put the materials in? Then it was time. The time for the testing. The moment of truth. In the large lecture theatre, each team took it in turns to set up their prototypes at the front and then the heating began. Team one’s did not last very long – 27 seconds, but team two’s did much better – lasting 2 minutes 44 seconds, a big improvement from their initial design! Overall, the girls had a brilliant day and enjoyed being able to look at Physics in a variety of real-life contexts to see that if they choose, this can be a career path for them too, not just for males, as it is often perceived. Before getting to Boulogne itself, we will stop at a bakery, where pupils will be taught how to make croissants and will try some freshly made bread and croissants. Once in Boulogne, pupils will be able to explore the old town and a small shopping area. We will then head to Nausicaa, Boulogne’s famous sea life centre. On our way back, we will stop at the ‘Cité d’Europe’ hypermarket where pupils will be able to practise their French to buy souvenirs. There will be 41 Year 8 and 3 Year 10 students going on this trip. C’est formidable! New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All At the end of last term Ms Withers, Teaching Assistant, suggested that as a whole school, instead of sending Christmas cards, it would be nice to provide gifts for the children’s hospital. After an overwhelming response we were able to provide gifts for both the children’s hospital and Barnardos. Miss Withers and Mrs Simpson (SENCo) delivered gifts to Barnardos and to the hospital. The hospital play workers explained that they cover 4 different wards and that they have to raise all funds themselves in order to provide toys, games and activities. The gifts given meant that all children on the wards during Christmas received a gift delivered by Santa himself. Barnardos stated that they have many families whom they support who are struggling both financially and emotionally. Providing toys, games and gifts for older young people such as perfume and deodorant packs which they give to families, is a huge pressure lifted off parents. Both Barnardos and the Children’s hospital staff were overwhelmed at staff generosity and wished us all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! The National Anti-Bullying Campaign for 2014 was entitled ‘Let’s stop bullying for all’. New College Leicester adopted this slogan and along with key partnerships (Soft Touch Arts, the Police and the Youth Service) developed a project to raise awareness in relation to bullying. Students provided suggestions and comments as to how they could challenge unacceptable behaviour and try to put a STOP to all forms of bullying. New College Leicester worked hard to deliver a whole host of activities ranging from creating anti-bullying posters and monologues, badgemaking, internet safety and cyber bullying, role play, story writing, quiz’s and competitions to raise the awareness of bullying. Students from the Anti-Bullying Steering Group and School Council were proactive in helping to organise and deliver many activities for the ticipate in—in order to send clear messages that bullying acceptable – A big thank you to those students. students to parbehaviour is not Thank you to all the staff and students who made this week such a huge success! New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All On Wednesday 7th January Year 8 students from New College Leicester attended an all-day event hosted by Loughborough University. The event was part of the REACH Partnership between Loughborough University, De Montfort University and University of Leicester. The event involved three workshops where the importance of English and maths was emphasised. The first workshop was called ‘Fishing for the Thief’ by De Montfort University. Pupils were required to solve a crime by using algebraic equations. “The best lesson was Fishing for the Thief because it was testing your detective skills.” Laura Mckeown. The second activity was called ‘Rocket through Maths and English’ by Loughborough University. This involved using simple mathematical equations to analyse the effect of changing variables. They were also encouraged to communicate their findings. “I learnt more about trigonometry and Pythagoras theorem when we had to build rockets and find out the distance they had travelled.” Angel North. The final workshop was called ‘Potted History of Maps’ by University of Leicester. Students explored maps through scaling a room and using English to make their own life map. “Today I learnt how to plot, draw and measure a map in Potted History of maps.” Tory Moore. Overall, the students really enjoyed the trip, it was an opportunity for them to English and Maths in every subject at school. realise the importance of Please find the updated Spring exam timetable under this link on our website: http://www.newcollege.leicester.sch.uk/index.php/curriculum/exams/ The updated version of the parent calendar can also be found under this link: http://www.newcollege.leicester.sch.uk/index.php/useful-info/prospectus-key-dates/ New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All On Wednesday 7th January, year 9 and 10 students participated in a Soft Touch Music Workshop called Symphonize. It was hosted by the very talented Philharmonia: one of the world's greatest orchestra groups. This workshop was in partnership with Soft Touch Arts. On Wednesday 7th January, selected year 9 and 10 students participated in a Soft Touch Music Workshop called Symphonize. It was hosted by the very talented Philharmonia: one of the world's greatest orchestras.. The group had artists from various musical backgrounds including reggae, classical and hip-hop. This workshop was in partnership with Soft Touch Arts. Students were given the opportunity to watch and listen to the orchestra play a combination of various instruments, including the viola, keyboard, trombone and samplers called push and machine. The group played an exceptional piece to start with, where students could see the instruments in action. Then, students were encouraged to formulate a story based on that piece, as a whole group. There were a lot of creative and imaginative ideas shared, and all students were actively engaged and taking part. The second half of the workshop saw the students being able to explore the instruments and experiment with different sounds. They had the opportunity to show their knowledge of music and also play instruments that they were comfortable with, for example the guitar, drums and clarinet. Students felt inspired by the range of music and were particularly keen to create new sounds. Choice 1: Paying Online - Login to: www.parentpay.com - You will have received an activation letter to enable you to setup your ParentPay account. - The activation letter will contain a personal activation username and password to enable you to login to ParentPay. - During the activation process you will be guided through changing your username and password to something more memorable. Choice 2: Paying at the nearest PayPoint To pay at a PayPoint Store use the Barcode on the trip letter. PayPoint Facilities are at the following stores: Jays News & Office Licence, 3-5 Musson Road, Leicester Martins, 297 Aikman Avenue, Leicester Co-operative, Aikman Avenue, Leicester or Sharmon Crescent, Leicester Hina Supermarket, 95-97 Keightley Road, Leicester If you are unsure of how to access the system, or for further information—please contact the college. New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All New College Leicester has recently been awarded the ‘Sainsbury’s School Games Bronze Kitemark’ award! This award recognises the sporting achievements from the previous academic year. This includes all the extra-curricular activities offered to students; the termly inter-form competitions; fixtures and competitions with other schools; engagement of students in sporting activities; and students involved in leadership opportunities. The PE department are extremely proud of the students who show commitment and dedication to sport at New College Leicester. Hopefully with this continued support we can work towards achieving the Silver award. On Thursday 11th November, New College Leicester hosted the School Sports Partnership Trampoline competition which saw four schools in the west of the city taking part. Eight students from New College Leicester participated in the competition; four entering the Key Stage 3 competition and four entering the Key Stage 4 competition. Students included: Awais Hayat Chloe Moffatt Saskia Revell Jeanna Willden Shannon Richards Kimberley Puwai Luka Neville Daniel Afelt Trampoline Club is on a Tuesday after school. The students have shown great commitment and dedication towards the competition, coming to Trampoline club every week and memorising the routines and skills in their own time. Students did exceptionally well, with the Key Stage 4 team coming 2nd overall and the Key Stage 3 team coming 4th. A Hayat (Year 11) did remarkably well, coming 1st overall out of the participants entered. Their PE teacher Miss Clark was extremely proud of all the students who took part. ALSO Football— Girls in Year 8 and 9 have also competed in two tournaments at St Margaret’s Pastures with some tough competition from the West Leicester Schools. They managed to secure a success with a win against Fullhurst, where they got off to a great start with a final score of 4-0. Congratulations to Remi Munden and Skye Riley for receiving player of the match. The girls managed to take the lead against a strong team from English Martyrs with Billie Chamberlin scoring an excellent goal in the first half. They played on with a strong defence to secure a draw of 1-1. Congratulations to the following girls who played for the team: Ellie-Mae Warden, Kelly Charles, BillieLeigh Chamberlin, Olivia Yates, Skye Riley, Remi Munden, Taylor Shepherd and Jeanna Willden. Thank you to Shayla Payne (Year 10) who came along as a young leader to referee the matches. New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All On the 10th of December New College Leicester welcomed pupils from Abbey Primary School for a gymnastics session, which was held in our gymnastics hall. The session was aimed at enhancing the pupils’ confidence and giving them a platform to demonstrate their gymnastic skills. It also gave them an opportunity to express themselves through freestyling across the range of apparatus. There was a range of activities covered in the session, including basic floor work using the £4500 air track (like a big lilo!!). The pupils also performed cartwheels, and advanced balances on the beams, this helped them gain confidence and the motor skill of coordination. They then tested their strength on the Men’s Artistic rings and Parallel bars, and used our Free G equipment to run a course of free running/Parkour activities. Some of the feedback from the pupils: We had a great time on Wednesday. My favourite bit was the running track it was so bouncy. Mitch is great and I hope we do something like this again! Mahima When I went to New College on Wednesday I absolutely loved it because of the beam and especially the hoops. Oh and the free running game. It was sooooooooooo…… (I could go on forever!) much Fun! Viante I enjoyed it at New College because we got to try out new equipment and I liked how Mitch taught us to swing on the bars. Thank you! Chloe In February 2015, New College Leicester hosted a Year 5 Gymnastics festival. Pupils from Stokes Wood, Forest Lodge, Braunstone Frith and Inglehurst Primary School took part in Freestyle Gymnastics, Trampolining and Circus Skills. The pupils were fantastic, showing true resilience when attempting new skills. It was great to see the pupils enjoying themselves and wishing they could stay for longer. We look forward to the next primary school festival which will be a Year 3 Gymnastics festival in March. This half term Year 5 pupils from Parks Primary School have been spending Monday afternoon’s at New College Leicester. Each week pupils have done different PE activities, ranging from Gymnastics to Boxing, learning new skills and developing existing ones. Following PE the pupils have spent time in other departments across the school, learning French, clay modelling in Art and Design and getting their ‘bunsen burner license’ in Science. Pupils have thoroughly enjoyed themselves and we at New College Leicester look forward to seeing them again in the future. New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All New College Leicester has been presented with an anti-bullying award – for the second year in a row! We were handed an anti-bullying charter (ABC) award by John Whitby, anti-bullying award manager at the SDSA. “The ABC Award is just one example of our young people demonstrating all of these values. I am extremely proud of our young people and staff for ensuring that we at New College Leicester stand up for what is right.” We hosted a whole week of activities and competitions as part of anti-bullying week in November, where the students were actively involved in the campaign to eradicate bullying (also in this newsletter). This was supported by the Leicester City Mrs Simpson, head of inclusion at New College Leicester, who received the award, said: “We feel thrilled and honoured to have been awarded the ABC Award for the second cycle running, and this is really positive for the whole school moving forward.” Winning the award provides opportunities for children and young people to take an active role in anti-bullying work, as well as showing that the school has taken a firm stand to not tolerate bullying. John Whitby said it was a “renewed commitment” to give this award to New College Leicester again. He said: “One of the main things we have seen at New College Leicester is that the school and the community are working in partnership to eradicate bullying, which is a real achievement.” As part of the whole school rewards system students who go above and beyond, attending extra-curricular clubs, being part of the school council and representing NCL at events get rewarded. Students are responsible for their own purple ABC card which is signed every time they go above and beyond. Students who get 30 ABC signatures are rewarded with an R6 and a £5 Love to Shop gift voucher. So far in the spring term the following students have completed their card; Marta Kluce, Connie Neale-Reynolds, Lucy Gibson, Sapphire Oliff-Linthwaite and Katie Dixon. Well done! Welcome to our brand new dining facility where the food is healthy, tasty and freshly prepared each morning. The payment system is fingerprint recognition, you can load money on the system using parent pay at home. We offer an extensive range of different options, pizza by the slice or whole ones with a selection of toppings, a pasta bar with a choice of sauces, jacket potatoes with a choice of hot & cold toppings and a salad bar with dressings. Filled baguettes and wraps, 12 varieties each day, we also offer a “set meal” option where students can purchase a balanced meal and dessert for a set price each day. Daily specials are also available these include chicken/vegetable fajitas, lamb/ vegetable lasagnes, curry selection choose from Balti, korma or tikka served with rice and naan, and not forgetting “Chinese Fridays” Shelley and her team are now proud to work directly for New College Leicester and aim to provide the students with high quality food served in a friendly atmosphere where everyone is welcome. We work with the student council and use feedback to help us provide type of foods the students would like to see on offer in their dining room. New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All The key objectives of the Academic Mentoring Programme are: - Improve students’ performance - Identify their strengths and increase self confidence - To raise aspirations What is an Academic Mentor? Academic Mentors will meet with a student on a 1:1 basis about three times per term to:- Listen - Encourage - Monitor progress towards academic targets - Share your experience and act as a positive role model - Point to other sources of support or referral if required Who are Academic Mentors? Academic Mentors are members of De Montfort University who have volunteered to support a student at New College Leicester on a regular basis. Mentors will be… - Good communicators - Excellent and active listeners - Able to show a sympathetic approach to sensitive issues - Able to maintain confidentiality The dedicated team! Here at New College Leicester, we believe that every student has the potential to succeed. This programme has clearly demonstrated an increase of our students’ academic achievement, personal development and their social skills. We would like to say a special thank you to those DMU students who are making a huge difference! For more information please contact Allan Dunsmore, Partnership Development Manager: Telephone 0116 231 8500 Ext. 193 or email adunsmore@newcollege.leicester.sch.uk Time-keeping and punctuality are life-skills which are demanded by employers, therefore it is the students responsibility to be on time and be ready to learn. Morning Afternoon Punctuality Expectations Consequence if Expectations are not met Students in Tutor Group by 9 am College 30 minute detention (3.15-3.45 pm) the same day Students in lesson by 1.15 pm College 30 minute detention (3.15-3.45 pm) the same day or the next day Note: Students who are late to lessons 2, 3 or 5 will be put into detention by their subject teachers. If students are absent for their detention, then this will be completed on the first day the student returns to the college. If students are late more than once, then the detention will add up – 30 minutes for every time they are late. If a student absconds, or refuses to complete the detention, they will be sent home until a parental meeting takes place. The student will then be in the Reflection Room for a full day followed by an hour’s detention. New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All Top students in each year group Well done to the following students who have achieved the most reward points from the start of the academic year to date in their year groups: Year 7 Total Reward Points Surname Forename Kluce Marta 710 Pottinger Skye 495 Owusu Joel 491 Yates Hussein Gracie-Mae Raqiya 462 459 Top achieving student in the college: Well done to Marta Kluce in Year 7 for achieving the most reward points in the college from the start of the academic year to date. She has achieved 710 reward points. An outstanding achievement and we are very proud of you! Year 8 Taylor Georgia 552 Richards Cimpanu Timmoney Shannon Ludmila Holly 514 450 444 Briers Chloe 435 Year 10 Year 9 Basten Ghasemi Tamzyn Kubra 399 360 Brown Chapman Daisy Courteney 422 378 Chiradza Gamble Rhoda Laura 356 356 Jin Woolman Jenny Jamie 339 332 Loakes Danielle 354 Marlow Ella 317 Ngwela Lauryta 354 Year 11 Post 16 Baltrusaitis Andrius 275 Aley Katie 76 Cave Jordan 268 Gartrell Courtney 73 Nethercot Sean 260 Easey Lois 65 Lenjani Andi 252 Rose Jordan 63 Cham Benjamin 247 Waters Torchia 59 Wilkinson Carleigh 247 Students of the week Form Tutors each week choose a student of the week. This award is given to a student who has worked very hard in all of their lessons, demonstrated exemplary behaviour in college and has shown a very positive attitude to learning. Well done to the following students who have been “Student of the week” this half term: Freya Jeffries Harley Hildreth, Katie Roberts, Callum White, Morgan Lee, Steph Norris, Emily Holmes, Tom Hopkins, Lewis Armitage Kimberley Puwai, Lakisha Teagle, Luke Goodwin, Evaan joyce, Amy Potterton, Kieran Hood, Amy Scotton, Kimberly Puwai, Andie Gamble, Jeanna Willden, Rosie Smith, Sapphire Oliff –Linthwaite, Jack Lester, Phabian Feare, Keenan Smalley, Ethan Matthews, Stephanie Morley, Tyler Shepherd, Manuela Nkrumah, Rebecca Sidwell, Dominik Nowacki, Chantel Foster, Chloe North, Aaliyah Hennie,Drew Bale Ford, Harry Johnson, Ali Saglam, Mitchell Gamble, Genefa Khan, Diona Occansey, Billy Newitt, Priti Janday, Thomas O’Shea, Andrius Baltrusaitis, Chelsea Nicklinson, Yaw Adjare, Georgia Walker, Chloe Moffat, Leonie Griffiths, Harley Cherry, Chinaelo Emejuru, Erica Smith, Sophie ____Bevans, Zaine Thompson, Tiyahna Bond,Ryan Chapman, Jessica Jones. WELL DONE!! New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All Attendance is vital for all students at New College Leicester and we celebrate good attendance in many ways. If students do not attend school they cannot learn and achieve and reach their full potential. The overall attendance for the college up to Friday 30th January is 93% . Well done to the following students who have achieved 100% attendance from the start of the academic year to date: Year 7: Harisa Ali, Niall Allen, Paul Baker, Alexandre Balde, Hubert Biela, Katie Dixon, Chloe Dunn, Matiss Eglitis, Summer Fleck, Niamh Franklin, Shaukat Ghanbari, Paris Glover-Stewart, Mia Hart, Harley Hildreth, Raqiya Hussein, Joshua Jones, Marta Kluce, Maisie Knott, Thomas Knott, Mrinal Maurya, Phyls Mbatchou, Connie Neale-Reynolds, Kaytee Nellist, Joel Owusu, Maxim Plesca, Bradley Pullin, Aridja Ramazani, Debora Reis, Blake Spinks, Ella Rose Tincknell-Davie, Kelsey Warden. Year 8: Chloe Briers, Otis Cham, Sofiane Chevrevil, Lloyd Gwebu, Zhyaw Hama, Dominik Korsos, Jordan Lanycia, Ying Xin Lou, Laura McKeown, Jessica Mintah, Michaelangelo Ncube, Vladmir Nsongi, Hritika Pala, Raimonds Priede, Ilze Putnina, Korben Sansome, Rosie Smith, Holly Timmoney, George Warren, Chrissy West, Jeanna Willden, Ebony Wood. Year 9: Fortune Asemota, Shannon Bambrick, Tamzyn Basten, Tara Blower, Issa Chevrevil, Rhoda Chiradza, Kubra Ghasemi, Aaliyah Hennie, Abbygail Herald, Ellie Lewis, Danielle Loakes, Benjamin Mintah, Ahmed Mohammed, Lauryta Ngwela, Manuela Nkrumah, Lilli-Mae Owen, Sakshi Pala, Ashley Reid, Abbi-Marie Ryan, Mujtaba Sadeqali, Cameron Saxton, Tyler Sheppard, Rebecca Sidwell, Holly Snow, Ethan Stokes, Elisha-Emily Tincknell-Davie, Ellie-Mae Warden, Charlotte Whitby. Year 10: Nanaaba Amoah, Ryan Biddle, Elina Borodica, Courteney Chapman, Ion Cimpanu, Virginia Gageiro, Mubarak Ghasemi, Oumar Jalloh, Priti Janday, Jenny Jin, Baruani Kabura, Sebastian Maslankowski, Kyle McLean, Julia Miroslaw, Kareena Naresh, Patryk Nowak, Diona Occansey, Aum Patel, Ricardo Silva, Ellie Tannahill. Year 11: Yaw Adjare, Nadia Andrews, Amy Asemota, Andrius Baltrusaitis, Malgorzata Brzek, Ben Ely-Simpson, Benjamin Cham, Marion Encea, Sean Nethercot, Yaseer Nour, Patricia Stec, Chloe Tannahill, Kate Thomas-Martin, Georgina-Mai Turner-Athanasiou, Kelvina Yeboah, Halil Yildirim. Post 16: Aaron Gartrell, Trevan Hixon. Attendance figures for each year group from the start of the academic year to Wednesday 26th November are as follows: Every lesson missed means your child falls behind!! Year 7: 94% Year 8: 93% Year 9: 93% Year 10: 92 Year 11: 92% Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 have been competing in their tutor groups to win the attendance league. The teams/tutor groups with the highest attendance over the Autumn Term were rewarded with a trip to Nottingham Ice Centre, to go ice skating. Winning teams were ‘The Challengers’ (7.3a), ‘Going for Gold’ (8.6) and ‘Mighty Quacks’ (9.4). Students thoroughly enjoyed their time ice skating with their being a few Bambi’s and some future Torvill and Dean’s. The new league has now started a fresh with the current leaders being ‘The LOL Team’ (7.6), ‘Stars of the R’s’ (8.1) and ‘Mighty Quacks’ (9.4). Make sure you’re attendance is above 97% to be in with a chance of winning! New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All Do you want to save £487.50 per year? There are 2,600 entitled students that are not currently claiming their Free School Meal! The benefits of having a Free School Meal for your child: They can have a hot and tasty meal Healthy foods – lots of choices They can sit and eat with their friends You don’t have to spend time making their lunch Are You Eligible? If you receive:- Income Support or Income Based Job Seeker’s Allowance; Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; Child Tax Credit but are NOT entitled to a Working Tax Credit and your annual income (as assessed by the Inland Revenue) does not exceed £16,190 (subject to annual review); Guarantee Element of State Pension Credit are eligible to receive free school meals; Income Related Employment and Support Allowance. How old does my child have to be? Any child in full-time attendance at school, who continue to be eligible, may receive free school meals until their 19th birthday. How do I apply for FREE SCHOOL MEALS? You complete an application form which can be obtained from Student Engagement Office or from: Free School Meals Service Leicester City Council 4th Floor 91 Granby Street Leicester LE1 6FB What is proof of eligibility? If you apply on line you can tick the box to give permission for the local authority to check your entitlement to any of these benefits. If you need any help completing the form then we are only too happy to help. Call into the Student Engagement Office. Once you have completed the form return it to the Student Engagement Office and we will deal with it on your behalf or forward it directly to the Free School Meals Service above. You can provide proof in one of the following ways: Income Support - letter of entitlement to Income Support which must be dated no more than 6 weeks before the date of application. Income Based Job Seeker’s Allowance - letter of entitlement to Income Based Jobseekers Allowance which must be dated no more than 6 weeks before the date of application. Child Tax Credit - Tax Credit Award TC602(A), as supplied by the Inland Revenue for the current tax year. Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999—vouchers as supplied by the Inland Revenue. Guarantee Element of State Pension Credit - Pension Credit Award Notice (M1000) for current tax year. Income Related Employment and Support Allowance - letter of entitlement to Income Related Employment and port Allowance which must be dated no more than 6 weeks before the date of application. Sup- New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All SCHOOL HOLIDAYS IN TERM TIME AND ABSENCES AS WE WANT YOUR CHILD TO ACHIEVE THEIR POTENTIAL— HOLIDAYS IN SCHOOL TERM TIME ARE THEREFORE NOT ALLOWED. Parents who take their children out of college during school term time RISK BEING ISSUED WITH A PENALTY NOTICE OR TAKEN TO COURT. NO HOLIDAYS IN TERM-TIME WILL BE AUTHORISED BY THE SCHOOL. If your child is unable to attend college for any reason, the college must be informed by 9.00am on the first day of absence. If this is not possible your child needs to bring a note explaining their absence on the day that they return to college. The Education Welfare Officer or the Police visit those with no explanation for absence. The telephone number that you need to ring to explain your child’s absence is: 0116 231 8512 Your child should only be absent from college for serious illness (not sniffles or minor headaches). Medical appointments should be arranged outside of college hours. Evidence (e. g an appointment card, hospital letter) should be brought into college prior to the appointment taking place. Medical appointments do not result in a positive attendance code. For further help and advice, speak to your school attendance officer, Mr Patel on 0116 231 8589 or your child’s Head of Year. PARENT GOVERNORS We are looking for Parent Governors to serve on the governing body of New College Leicester. You don’t have to be an expert on education to be a school governor (although it’s amazing how much you will learn) and the experience and skills you bring as a parent are very valuable. There’s also lots of help, support and training opportunities to help you carry out this role. Governing bodies are responsible for a wide range of matters including ensuring that students receive high quality education and planning for future development and improvement of the school. Parent governors play an important role as members of the governing body, including ensuring that the governing body is aware of the views of parents and the local community. You can find out more about the New College Leicester Governing Body on the governance pages on our web site at www.newcollege.leicester.sch.uk. If you would like to stand for election or wish to nominate someone else, you should complete a nomination form and return it to the school via your child. Forms can be obtained from the school. Completed nomination forms must be returned to the college. If there are more nominations than vacant posts, a ballot will be held and one voting paper per parent will be sent to you via your child. If you would like further information, please speak to Lynn Dawson, Clerk to the Governors 0116 231 8501 or email her at ldawson@newcollege.leicester.sch.uk We look forward to welcoming you onto the governing body. Parents/Carers—Thank you for supporting us to get the best from your child. However, please remember : DON’T JUST TURN UP AT RECEPTION WITHOUT AN APPOINTMENT— we won’t be able to see you If you have a concern please contact your child’s tutor in the first instance via the college on 0116 231 8500 and leave a message for them to contact you or call to make an appointment. New College Leicester Learning and Sports Village Outstanding Progress for All HELP YOUR CHILD TO ACHIEVE THEIR BEST Here at New College Leicester, we are doing everything we can to ensure all students achieve their best in all areas of learning. These parent guides include lots of tips and information on how you can support your child at home to prepare them for their upcoming tests and exams. Parents with students in Year 11 should have received one of these booklets, with mock exam and revision timetables. If not, you can download a copy from the NCL website. Parents with students in Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 will be able to access this via our website and the leaflet will be sent home nearer the exam season. For further information, please do not hesitate to contact the school.