PRISM
The John of Gaunt School
- A Community Academy -
NEWSLETTER-Primary School Edition
No.3
December 2012
JOHN OF GAUNT IN THE TOP 15% NATIONALLY
Data that we have received in the last few weeks shows that our Summer
GCSE results place us in the top 15% of schools nationally for the
achievement of our students; this is brilliant!
Hello Everyone
Christmas is now well and truly with us and I bet you have all been having a wonderful time in
school singing carols, eating party food and no doubt performing in Nativity plays that have
rounded off 2012 in a splendid way.
We have had two terrific events. Our annual Carol Concert in Holy Trinity Church and in school
our Christmas Concert; these were a great success with over 100 student musicians in each.
On Monday evening we welcomed back past students to receive certificates and prizes for
their A level achievements. It was fantastic to see everyone looking so grown up as they
returned home from universities and were meeting up again with friends who have successfully
gained employment in the local area.
I hope that you all have a fantastic Christmas and that both in and out of
school 2013 is a brilliant year.
Mr Packer
WORKING TOGETHER FOR ALL TROWBRIDGE CHILDREN
Collaborative Schools Ltd, the company set up by all Trowbridge schools in April 2012 is going
from strength to strength. Working together on such areas as the highest quality teaching,
professional development for staff, well-being and behaviour. We are entering 2013 with a
clear agenda for all children in our town and its surrounding villages.
ENGLISH GCSE
Year 10
Well done for surviving GCSE English until Christmas! I hope the Shakespeare study is going OK and
next term it's Short Stories.
Please keep up the hard work.
Year 11
REVISE REVISE REVISE
Tue 8th Jan - Revision day with your English teacher
Thurs 10th Jan - English Language Exam
Wed 16th Jan - Poetry re-sit Exam (for some of you)
You should all have revision posters for the exam. Keep using these AND reading newspapers/
magazines/junkmail/leaflets...
For those of you doing the poetry re-sit, try to re-read the poems and your notes from last year.
FINALLY, make sure you have bought 'Of Mice and Men' (unless you are in Mr Bishop's class) - you
WILL need this in lessons after the exams.
Please keep up the hard work.
Good Luck!
Mr Davis and the English Faculty
RIGHTS RESPECTING SCHOOL AWARD
We are well on the way to achieving level one of the award after receiving the
Recognition of Commitment. Tutor work has been based on issues of respect
and the work of UNICEF.
If you would like to know more about the award you can contact the steering
group on rrsa@johnofgaunt.wilts.sch.uk
SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
Can parents please ensure that all school uniform is labelled so that it can be returned to
students.
Reporting student absence...signing in/out… there should be a note written in the planner...and if
a student feels unwell they must see the nurse first before making arrangements to go home.
Reporting a student absence at the beginning of the day … please leave a message as early as
possible on the absence answer line.
CONGRATULATIONS
The Wiltshire Rural Music School recently held an ABRSM High Scorers’ Concert.
One of our students, Rachel Stonham in Year 7 was invited to perform due to her exceptionally
high achievement in her recent music exam.
Well done Rachel and we hope you continue playing music for others to enjoy.
Mr Packer
On Friday 19th October The Modern Languages Faculty took a group of 24 students to the
'Languages Show 2012' in London. Students were able to find out about jobs requiring a language
qualification and the opportunities available for further studies of foreign languages.
There were free language learning materials given out as well as the opportunity to try lessons in
languages such as Chinese and Korean. There were also various talks and workshops throughout
the day.
Many thanks to Miss Hannah for organising the trip.
Mr May - MFL faculty
BADMINTON
The West Wilts round of the Centre Parcs National Schools Badminton
Championships were played on Friday 7th December at Centre Parcs,
Longleat. A Year 9 boys team played at the event, successfully beating
Matravers 5-0; narrowly losing to Kingdown 3-2; and being beaten 5-0 by the
eventual champions St Laurence.
The players were a credit to the school and enjoyed the experience of playing in this national
competition.
Mr Smith.
DUKE OF EDINBURGH'S AWARD
Nearly 40 students have signed up to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh's
Award run at the school. Initial lessons in the use of stoves and food
preparation; first aid; and personal kit and rucksack packing have started the
participants thinking about their initial practice expedition planned for April
2013. There is still the opportunity for anybody aged 14 or over to start the
award and gain an extremely valuable qualification and life experiences.
Mr Smith.
MULTI FAITH DAY
On the 23rd November our school celebrated
National Multi Faith week by inviting members
of our religious community into our school. A Rastafarian, Hindu, Muslim, Jew and member of the
Baha'i faith joined us throughout the day to talk to students about their faith and gave their
views on respecting people in our community. Students had the opportunity to ask our visitors a
range of questions about their beliefs.
At lunchtime staff and students had the chance to meet our visitors as well. BBC Radio Wiltshire
were invited into school to interview teachers, our visitors and some of our students. It was a
very successful day. Thank you to everyone involved.
THE CHRISTIAN UNION
The Christian Union have been meeting every Tuesday lunchtime to talk about
issues facing Christians today. If you would like to send any prayer requests
for the Union to focus on, or if you would like to find out more about the
Union you can contact us on: christianunion@johnofgaunt.wilts.sch.uk
RECENT VISIT TO INDIA
During the half term I visited our partnership school in Madurai, a
temple city in southern India. Our partnership school is called the
Mahatma Higher Secondary School. It is a boarding school that has
953 students. Students live there and leave the school during holidays
and festivals to see their family.
During my time there I found out that our school is very similar to our partnership school, even
though they are thousands of miles apart. The main difference is that the school grow their own
bananas, mangoes, pineapples and other exotic fruits and vegetables to feed everyone that lives
there - something that we couldn't really do at our school!
I looked around the school and observed great lessons that involved beautiful songs and dances.
I spoke to many Indian students and teachers about our school and what it means to be British. I
taught a variety of subjects across all age ranges. I found out many things about Indian culture
and Hinduism.
Elango, an Indian teacher from our partnership school, came to visit our school at the of
September. This partnership is part of the Global School's Programme which many schools are
involved in. Our partnership school is very keen on starting student exchanges between their
students and our students. If anyone would be interested in getting involved in an exchange with
Indian students then do let me know.
Mr Perraton
NOCHE DE PAZ
The Modern Languages Faculty has collaborated with the Music
department for this year's Carol Service. For the first time, year 7
students will be performing a carol in Spanish at the Carol Service,
surrounded by Christmas decorations based around the most
important Christmas story characters for Spanish children - the Three Wise Men, otherwise
known as the Three Kings (Los Reyes in Spanish).
On January 6th Spanish children receive their presents from Los Reyes and there are often
parades in the streets featuring Los Reyes riding on camels and throwing sweets to the children
in the crowds.
All our year 7 classes have learnt the song (Silent Night in Spanish - Noche de Paz) and have
created the decorations. If you attended the Carol Service last week we hope you enjoyed the
little bit of Spanish in your evening!
YEAR 7 ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED SPANISH CULTURE CLUB
This term our Culture Club students chose 6 Spanish-speaking countries to explore: Spain,
Venezuela, Bolivia, Panama, El Salvador and Mexico.
We have made colourful Bolivian festival masks (pictured). We learnt new and interesting facts
about Bolivia, Mexico and Spain. We had a poster competition for which we had to use our best
Spanish and show everything you can do on holiday in Spain. We learnt about the different
species of wildlife in Venezuela and made presentations on an animal of our choice to show the
group.
Many thanks to Miss Hunt and Ms Kouchek for running the club.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD SHOEBOX APPEAL
Many, many thanks to the students and staff for their wonderful
response to this year's appeal.
175 gift filled shoe-boxes were brought into school together with many
items which have been used to top up other shoe-boxes. This year the shoe-boxes from The
John of Gaunt have been sent to be given to very needy children in Liberia. There will be some
very happy children when they receive their shoebox this Christmas. Thank you.
M Stubbs on behalf of Samaritan's Purse
CHRISTMAS CAROL SERVICE
On Thursday 13th December the Music department held its annual Christmas Carol Service at
Holy Trinity Church. Once again the Church was full with an audience of over 300 people coming
to see nearly 150 students across all of the years, and staff, perform. A variety of music was
performed by the different ensembles and also included the traditional carols. One new highlight
this year was the year 7 massed choir. The Music and Spanish departments teamed up to teach a
cross curricular project whereby year 7 students learnt to sing Silent Night in Spanish!
Everyone left the service feeling festive after having joined in with some of the traditional
carols! The Music department would like to thank all of the students who were involved and all of
the parents who have supported the Christmas events.
The Carol Service was recorded so if you would like a CD of the music please see either Mr
McIntyre or Mrs Moore.
We would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas!
THE LION KING
On 14th November 50 students went to see the musical The Lion King at the Bristol
Hippodrome. The students were amazed by the spectacular costumes, staging, acting
and songs. In fact the coach journey back was full of songs being sung from the
show!
There are still a few places left to go and see the pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
in Bath on Thursday 8th January. If you are interested in going please see either Mr McIntyre or
Mrs Moore for a letter.
Look out for other trips the music department are running in the New Year!
CAROL SINGING
The Music department took a group of students to Trowbridge Oaks care home
to sing carols for the residents. Those at the home enjoyed singing along with
our students and afterwards said how well they sang. They were a real credit to
themselves and the school. Well done and thank you!
THE CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION CONCERT
On Wednesday 19th December the Music department hosted its annual Christmas Celebration
Concert in Gloucester Hall. This concert is slightly different to the Carol Service, particularly in
the second half when all the Santa hats and reindeer ears come out! There was a great mix of
Christmas music during the evening with a mix of different ensembles, bands and soloists. Once
again we had the audience joining at the end of the evening singing
We Wish You a Merry Christmas! We would like to thank all of the students involved as well as
for the support from the parents and staff. A special mention goes to all of the soloists whose
performances were of such a high calibre. The evening was really entertaining and enjoyed by all,
with everyone leaving feeling in the Christmas spirit!
NEWS FROM THE SIXTH FORM – DECEMBER 2012
Year 13
The UCAS applications are on their way and the offers are rolling in. It’s an exciting time of year
for our Year 13 students.
For those students not going to university, Mrs Maddison, our new Sixth Form
Intervention Officer is available to support you with your CV writing and any
opportunities that we are told of that come up locally. It’s really important that
students keep an eye on the job market and what’s being advertised in the
papers and on the internet. Many students write directly to firms they are
interested in working for.
Year 12 and 13
January sees A2 and AS exams begin in some subjects. Through revision for these will be crucial.
When students have an afternoon exam they may take off that morning for revision if they wish.
When the exams are in the morning students can take off from 2pm of the previous day for
revision. We wish all of our students every success with these key exams.
For subjects that don’t have an external examination there will be a mock week beginning 28th
January.
Year 11
Following our Year 11 into 12 day and the Sixth Form Information Evening, most of our Year 11
students have made a clear decision as to which subjects they would like to take at AS or BTEC
level in Year 12. If you are unsure about anything or have any burning questions, please do pop into
the Sixth Form office – we’re more than happy to help.
Please hand in your paper applications by January 31st. We’ll then invite you
for an interview.
Thanks for your continued support of our Sixth Form students.
Merry Christmas and Happy 2013 to you all.
The Sixth Form Team
UNIFORM/DRESS CODE YEARS 12 – 13
Although there are no uniform requirements in the Sixth Form, there are dress requirements. As
you are a senior member of your school, we expect you to set a mature example in the way you
behave and dress. With this in mind, we expect you to dress in a way that is safe and acceptable in
style to both the staff and visitors to the school. Extremes of fashion, extreme piercings,
inappropriate logos on T-shirts and over-exposure of flesh is clearly not acceptable!
We want Sixth Form students to feel comfortable and unregimented; however, the way you dress
should clearly indicate that you are essentially here to study. There may be times when more
formal dress will be required, such as when you are helping out at public events.
LIBRARY AND LEARNING RESOURCES CENTRE
Author visit
Local author, Joffre White, spent the day with us in the Library on Monday 17th December
when he presented his ‘Reading Motivation Sessions’ to our Year 7 students. Joffre inspired
the students with these visual and interactive sessions, sharing with them his enthusiasm for
reading and writing and he certainly sent their imaginations on an exciting journey!
Joffre kindly stayed with us during the lunch break to sign copies of his books,
‘Frog’ and ‘Frog and the Sandspiders of Aridian’ and was happy to answer
questions posed by our inquisitive students.
I would like to thank Joffre for his time and energy and for instilling in the
students his passion for reading and the power of imagination and the written word.
Christmas competitions
‘The 12 Words of Christmas’
Students were invited to write a story with a Christmas theme using just 12 words. The story
had to have a beginning, a middle and an ending. I received some wonderful stories and the
best three will be forwarded to the national competition (organised by a school librarian) in
January for the chance to win an iPod Touch. I shall be awarding prizes internally to a selection
of the best stories at the beginning of next term.
(I organised a staff competition parallel to the student competition and received some
imaginative and quirky entries).
‘Guess who’s coming to Christmas lunch’
The Library tables were set up with place settings depicting book characters. Students had to
guess from the props and clues which character was ‘coming to Christmas lunch’. This is a
popular annual competition and always ends with the students wanting to borrow the books,
which is always a pleasure to see.
Finally, I would like to say, as ever, a big thank you to all my helpers and Library ‘regulars’ and
wish you all a very happy and restful Christmas.
A Carter
Learning Resources Manager
17th December 2012
West Wilts Alliance
Dear Parent/Guardian
NEPAL EVEREST BASE CAMP EXPEDITION, SUMMER 2014
West Wilts Alliance is delighted to announce that an exciting expedition to Everest Base Camp, Nepal is
planned for Summer 2014. This promises to be a highly educational and exhilarating expedition. We will start
in the ancient city temples of Kathmandu, before travelling East to the foothills of the stunning Himalayan
range. It is here that we undertake a magnificent trek through the Himalayas, enjoy superb views of
Everest, and the highest mountain range on earth.
This will be a fully supported trek, rucksacks will be carried by yaks and horses, and participants will only
trek with daysacks. All meals will be cooked and provided by a highly professional Sherpa team. This is one
of the most exhilarating treks in the world! We will enjoy superb views of the giant snow-capped peaks of
Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam. We will see musk deer and Himalayan mountain goats, and visit
the breathtaking Thyangboche monastery, before reaching Everest Base Camp.
The expedition will give all participants a real sense of adventure, and a unique opportunity to learn about
leadership, teamwork, self-reliance and decision-making – all crucial life-skills in this uncertain world.
I hope you will agree that there is great value in this sort of expedition, not least in terms of personal
development. Changes in the job market mean employers are demanding greater flexibility and increasing
transferable skills. Those who develop skills of leadership and teamwork will be more employable and will
have a greater potential to add value for a company. This expedition will also look excellent on your UCAS
application or CV!
There will be a Parents Presentation with a full colour presentation and briefing from the organisers, Far
Frontiers Expeditions, who have 17 years’ expertise in organising school expeditions to Nepal, on Tuesday,
22nd January 2013 at 7pm in the CLC at The John of Gaunt School. Both parents and students are
invited to attend.
There will be time for parents and students to ask questions at the end of the presentation. Booking forms
to join the expedition, plus a full itinerary, will be handed out at the Parents Presentation.
Please return the slip below by Friday, 18th January, or simply email me, if you are interested in
attending this presentation. My email address is below. Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Mr S Smith
PE Faculty
………………………………………………………………………………………..................................................................................................................
Please return to: Mr S Smith—Nepal Expedition July 2014
Email: ssmith@johnofgaunt.wilts.sch.uk
Name……………………………............................. Year Group ………………….....
We will be able to attend the Parents’ presentation on Tuesday, 22nd January 2013 at 7pm in the CLC at
The John of Gaunt School.
Signed…………………………………................................................................
Parent/Guardian
EVEREST BASE CAMP TREK
Summer 2014
Come to the special Parent & Pupils’ Presenta on
on Tuesday 22nd January at 7pm
in the CLC, The John of Gaunt School
Your Adventure, our Expertise
PUPIL PREMIUM
The Pupil Premium is funding from the DfE specifically aimed at closing the achievement gap
between students who are eligible for free school meals and their peers. Schools and
Academies receive funding for students who have received free school meals at any point in
the last 6 years. If you believe your child might qualify for free school meals, please read the
guidance provided in the parents section on the school website.
It is important to note that not all students who access free school meals are socially
disadvantaged. Likewise, many students qualify for free school meals but do not access them.
The increased provision as a result of this funding should, therefore, not only focus on
students receiving free school meals but should benefit the whole community.
The Pupil Premium Grant for 2012/13 is £145,250
Our Year 11 students achieved exceptional results in 2012; the best the school has ever
achieved. The progress our students made in English and maths from KS2-KS4 places us in
the top 15% of schools nationally. Whilst the performance of our students who access free
school meals also improved, it did not increase at the same rate as other students.
We have therefore recognised the need to further increase our provision for supporting
students in English & maths. Using the Sutton Trust research, a study of the impact of
various intervention strategies, we have therefore decided to focus our spending on:
-
Intervention teachers in English & maths
Higher Level Teaching Assistants in English & maths
Intervention assistants to focus on mentoring, raising aspirations, careers guidance and
homework
Training for teachers on providing the most effective feedback to students
What has been the impact?
It is too early to see the full impact of this intervention. We will provide updates later in the
year. Our current Year 11s are again on track for record breaking results.
The Pupil Premium Grant for 2011/12 was £60,048
Funding for this academic year was spent on staffing within our Student Development Team.
The focus of this team is to work intensively with our most vulnerable students, removing
barriers to their learning. The Student Development Team has a significant impact on the
behaviour and welfare across the school.
Mr Gunston
RUGBY TRANINIG
West
OPEN TOWiltshire
AGES 11-19
TROWBRIDGE PARK
Alliance
COME ALONG AND GIVE RUGBY A TRY!
TUESDAY 22ND JAN 6.30pm
IMPORTANT EXAMINATION INFORMATION
Timetabled Examinations during Bad Weather/Other Adverse
Conditions:
The Centre WILL BE OPEN and Timetabled Examinations
WILL GO AHEAD, even if the school is closed for other
students.
If you cannot get to school because of bad weather you must phone the exams office on
01225 711161 for advice.
Examination documents
Please make sure you check your personal details very carefully when examination documents are
issued to you.
Be aware that examination certificates can only be issued in the surname listed on our school
system as your Legal name, regardless of any preferred name you normally use in school. It is
important that this is a surname, which can be verified by suitable documentation such as a birth
certificate, (using ‘known as’ names can cause difficulties for you at a later date) as potential
employers, colleges etc. will need to see proof of your examination results and confirmation of your
identity.
If you are unsure whether the school has your correct legal name, please check with Mrs Cottle or
Miss Sawyer as soon as possible.
Remember, if you wait until certificates are printed to make any amendments it is not always
possible to get them corrected, so correcting these things early can save you time and money later
on!
Exam Dates
January Exams
March GCSE’s
Summer MAIN written exams
Wed 9th Jan – Wed 30th Jan
Wed 27th Feb & Mon 4th Mar
Tues 7th May- Tues 25th June
Results
Nov RESULTS
Jan RESULTS
Mar RESULTS
Summer GCE RESULTS
Summer GCSE RESULTS
Mrs Cottle
Examinations Officer
Thurs 10th Jan 2013
Thurs 7th Mar 2013
Thurs 18th Apr 2013
Thurs 15th Aug 2013
Thurs 27th Aug 2013