NAME: ______________________
Welcome to the half termly newsletter, bringing you up-to-date information about the School.
February 2015
This newsletter is available in large print and can also
be translated into other languages on request.
Dear Parent/Carer,
It’s been a very short but interesting half-term. We have continued to build on the success of our best ever results and
you’ll find on the DFE Performance Tables that we are a top ten Cumbria school and 3rd in the entire country when
compared to schools who are similar to us.
I believe that some of you are not getting newsletters and this concerns me. The past two newsletters had very important
information from the Government regarding E-Safety and Bullying. If you didn’t get a copy, please go to our website
www.netherhall.cumbria.sch.uk where you can view past newsletters.
Can I please encourage you to use Parentview in order to give us feedback. OFSTED use this to gauge how well you view
the school.
I must inform you of some very exciting news concerning our annual awards evening. Following the
success of last year’s awards evening we have secured another inspirational speaker, Jo Salter.
As Britain’s first female fast jet pilot, Jo’s tales from such an elite world offer alternative insights into personal
development, meeting challenges and succeeding in the face of adversity.
Imagine being in control of 25 million pounds of screaming metal flying just above the ground - decisions
have to be immediate, reflexes lightning fast. For Jo Salter, this was just the day job when she became
Britain’s first female fast jet pilot flying the Tornado GR1, then one of 5 women fighter pilots in the world.
She was declared combat ready by the RAF on 21 February 1995. Salter was the first woman to be an
operational Tornado pilot and she later flew from both Turkey and Saudi Arabia in protection of the No-fly
zone over Iraq.
Parental Engagement
It will come as no surprise to you all to know that children of parents who take an active interest and part in their education
make better progress than other children. It’s also known that these improvements tend to be permanent so if you want to
give your child the best possible start in life we all know that being involved in their education is vital. One way you can do
this is by coming to parents’ evening.
Parental Engagement is not about who you are and the level of your family income getting in the way, it’s what you do
that counts. That’s why schools in very deprived areas still perform highly; because the parents are committed to working
with the school and to helping their children work hard.
Reading achievement is best where parents engage in activities that involve reading to your children, reading with your
children, using topical stories from newspapers for example.
So, the school is trying to work more closely with parents such as through the Parent Communication Group. The first step
we want to take is to look at how inviting our school environment is. Is it welcoming to you? More will follow on this through
the Parent Communication Group.
Uniform
Our uniform will be switching supplier to West Lakes Embroidery who will be the sole stockist of our uniform. Based in
Maryport, this will be a convenient way to purchase our uniform and please note that from Easter you will no longer be
able to get the uniform from school. In the run-up to the change at Easter we will be offering the current fleece at a
discounted rate. Please contact the school for more details.
Year 5
Calling all Year 5 students! We will be holding a technology day at Netherhall School in June where you will, along with
your team mates, build an igloo! It must be big enough to house one adult (maybe one of your teachers!) and one
student. More details will follow soon.
Minecraft
Calling all Year 5 & 6 students! We are just beginning to design and build Netherhall School in Minecraft so you will be able
to explore our amazing school on-line. More details will follow shortly.
J Johnson
Head Teacher
r
SAFEGUARDING IN OUR SCHOOL
CHILD PROTECTION TEAM
Carol Sibbit
Senior Learning Mentor
Nikki Cameron
Assistant Head
Andrea Brown
Pastoral Support
THINGS WE DO TO SAFEGUARD CHILDREN IN OUR SCHOOL
















A dedicated Child Protection Team is in place
There are two designated Safeguarding Governors
All staff and sixth form wear identity badges
All visitors sign in and wear a visitor’s badge
All students sign in and out
Registers are taken every lesson
There is a dedicated Attendance Officer
There is a dedicated member of staff responsible for health care plans and
administration of medicines
All staff in their first term complete Cumbria LSCB on-line level 1 Child
Protection training
All staff have current DBS/CRB checks
A single central register is kept and updated regularly
Confidential support is available to staff and students from our school
counsellor
Fortnightly Inclusion Panel meetings take place
Cumbria LSCB Early Help process is followed
Safer Recruitment protocols are in place and every interview panel has a
member trained in Safer Recruitment
References for new staff are sought and validated prior to appointment
EVERYONE AT NETHERHALL SCHOOL TAKES THE
ISSUE OF SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN VERY SERIOUSLY
IF YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC CONCERN ABOUT
SAFEGUARDING OR A GENERAL QUESTION OR
QUERY, PLEASE CONTACT ONE OF OUR NAMED CHILD
PROTECTION TEAM
COPIES OF OUR SAFEGUARDING POLICY ARE
AVAILABLE ON THE SCHOOL WEBSITE
CUMBRIA SAFEGUARDING HUB: 0333 240 1727
School Uniform
From Monday 23 February – Friday 27 march 2015 you can get a great deal on school uniform. Due to stock
availability the Netherhall School uniform will be sold at a reduced price. If you wish to purchase or find out
more, please see Mrs Irving.
From Monday 13 April 2015 you may order the new uniform, including the new top.
Please do not worry if you wish to use the old uniform as there will be a 12 month period of grace for the
changeover of uniform.
A letter will be sent out to all parents explaining this in more detail.
There will also be a change to the uniform shop. From 13 April 2015 there will be a new uniform shop.
All uniform can now be purchased from:
Lindsey Routledge
West Lakes Embroidery
Mealpot Road
Maryport
Cumbria
CA15 6QT
Tel: 01900 817799
The payment card system will also be available at the shop if you wish to spread the cost.
PARENT GOVERNOR
VACANCIES
The Governing Body of Netherhall School, in
line with every other governing body, has to
reconstitute by this September 2015.
We are looking to recruit 2 new parent
governors to join us. The only qualification
you need is to be a parent of a pupil at our
school, who is committed to ensuring that
every child at Netherhall receives the best
possible experience and education while
they are in our care.
To express an interest, or for an informal chat
please contact Chris Freeland, Clerk to
Governors, in the first instance.
BOOK FAIR to celebrate
‘World Book Day’
Early notice
We will be holding a book fair in the library on
Thursday 5th March and Friday 6th March. All
pupils in Years 7 and 8 will be given the
opportunity in their English lesson to visit the
book fair. The library will be open at lunch
times for other years to visit.
There will be a selection of fiction and
non-fiction books all at half price.
Happy Reading
Did you know...?
...that as the parent or carer of a pupil at our
school you are automatically a member of our
Parental Engagement Group? This is an informal
group that meets to discuss issues that are
important to parents; it is chaired by one of our
Parent Governors and both the Headteacher
and Chair of Governors attend as appropriate.
The group is an ideal way for us to communicate
with parents in a relaxed atmosphere, with the
agenda shared between matters raised both by
parents and school. Recent discussions have
centred on the new- look school reports that are
being phased in and making sure our students
get as much positive publicity as they deserve.
We would be delighted to have more parents
sharing their views with us, so if you think you
would like to be involved, please give your
contact details to Chris Freeland in the school
office and she'll let you know when the next
meeting will be held.
Key Dates to Remember
Half Term
16 February to 20 February
Students return on 23 February 2015
End of Term
Last day of term Friday 27 March
Students return on Monday 13 April
4 March – Yr9 Parents Evening and Options
5 March – World Book Day
11 to 13 March – Yr10 Belgium Battlefield trip
26 March – Awards Evening
Accelerated Reading
We are excited to announce the introduction of our new Accelerated Reading scheme (AR) for
Year 7. We will be rolling the scheme out when we come back to school following the February half term. The
aim of the scheme is to try and create an ethos of reading for pleasure, while also trying to produce above
average reading growth results for our students.
AR is geared towards motivating students to read more suitably challenging books through a reading
programme that aims to meet the individual needs of every student.
After your child has read their book they will then complete a quiz which will enable staff to see that they have
understood the book. The results of this quiz will produce a printed report which will provide information on how
much they have achieved which they can bring home to show you.
The aim of this programme is to create a competitive, fun approach to reading and enable students to take
ownership of their progression with help from teachers, whilst keeping parents as involved as possible.
Students will have allocated reading time during the school day along with the opportunity to renew books,
talk to their teacher regarding reading habits and progress and take quizzes.
We trust that you will support this programme by ensuring your child reads as much
as possible at home.
To help your child find a book at their level you can use www.arbookfind.co.uk
New York
Between Sunday 18 and Thursday 22 January, 16 Year 13 pupils had the fantastic opportunity to visit New York
City on our annual 6th form Cultural Enrichment Experience. During the hectic few days we saw and visited all
the major sights of the Big Apple:
The Empire State Building,
Times Square,
The Guggenheim Museum,
Circle line boat tour,
The Statue of Liberty,
Radio City Music Hall,
Hard Rock Café,
The Cathedral of St John the Divine,
Battery Park,
Wall Street,
Ground Zero and museum,
Grand Central Station,
Bubba Gump’s Restaurant,
Starbucks and MacDonald’s,
Macy’s and Tiffany’s
Of course we had to go shopping on 5th Avenue as well as taking in a Broadway show, called “Matilda”.
I would like to thank our students for their first-class conduct on the tour and would like to thank Mrs Anderson for
her assistance. It was a wonderful experience.
Mr Bailey, Tour Organiser
Our experience in New York was mind-blowing. The highlight was definitely the amazing view from the top of
the Empire State Building, it left us speechless. Going on the boat trip around Manhattan and seeing the Statue
of Liberty was fascinating to see. A few other highlights were Radio City Music Hall, Matilda on Broadway,
shopping on 5th Avenue and of course the food! The experience at the 9/11 memorial was gut wrenching and
very emotional. It allowed us to empathise with the families who lost someone in this awful tragedy. We are very
grateful to Mr Bailey for planning this amazing trip and to Mrs Anderson for accompanying us. New York has
provided us with many memories and we will take this life changing experience through our lives forever.
“The Big Apple was sweet to the core”
Jessica Warren, Amy Gallimore and Emily Pearce (Year 13)
YEAR GROUP
Year 7
DATES
EXAM INFORMATION
16 March
04 March
Reading & Spelling Tests this week
Internal Exams
Timetables will be issued by end of
April
Reading & Spelling Tests this week
Internal Exams
Timetables will be issued by end of
April
Reading & Spelling Tests this week
Junior Maths Challenge
(Students selected will be notified)
Internal Exams
Timetables issued before end of March
Travel & Tourism January Exam Results
March
PE External Exam - Date TBA
23 March
GCSE Art Exam this week
24 March
English & Maths Paper 1 Mock Exam
25 March
Maths Paper 2 Mock Exam
26 March
20 August
Additional Science Mock Exam
External Exams - Timetables will be
issued early March
GCSE Summer Results issued
16 March
AS Art Exam this week
20 April
AS Art Exam this week
External Exams - Timetables will be
issued early March
GCE Summer Results issued
01 June – 05 June
16 March
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
01 June – 05 June
16 March
30 April
27 April – 01 May
05 May – 26 June
Year 12
05 May – 26 June
13 August
20 April
Year 13
05 May – 30 June
13 August
A2 Art Exam this week
External Exams - Timetables will be
issued early March
GCE Summer Results issued
Exams and internal tests are extremely important to all students and their future; please
ensure that revision is carried out in an organised manner.
Students should not be taken out of school for holidays or other social activities at any
time and even more so during the lead up to and the actual exams/tests.
Student Performance Data – Spring 1
Years 7, 8 and 9 Performance Data will be issued to students before February half term.
Could parents please remember to look at the data sheet in the planner to check the progress
your child is making.
Heres a bit of science
The safest place to be in a thunderstorm is in
your car! Yes, in your car! When a car is hit
by lightning it acts as a Faraday cage. The
cars metallic structure distributes the
electrical charge around the body work or
chassis of the car cancelling out any effect
or harm to the interior
of the car or its
inhabitants.
This fact was
tested by Richard
Hammond on
Top Gear, with him
in the car.
How big a daredevil are you?
Storm chasers are people who try to get close
to storms for observation purposes. Storm
chasing is very dangerous. People who chase
storms are passionate
about the phenomena and
are willing to embrace
the risk.
Forecasting by Wind
Detect the direction of the wind. If you are
unable to immediately detect the wind's
direction, throw a small piece of grass in to the
air and watch its descent. Easterly winds,
which blow from the east, can indicate an
approaching storm front; westerly
winds mean good weather.
Strong winds indicate high
pressure differences, which
can be a sign of advancing
storm fronts.
Wild Weather Facts
 Did you know that if large hailstones are cut in half
they often show a pattern of rings, just like growth
rings in a tree.
 Snowflakes form from many tiny ice crystals that
stick together in a process called aggregation.
This can result in many beautiful shapes all with sixfold or hexagonal symmetry.
 Many of the raindrops you see fall began their life
as hail. It only turns to rain when the hail descends
through warmer air.
 The largest hailstone ever recorded weighed
0.9kg and had a diameter of 20cm.
 Extreme tornados can have wind speeds
approaching 500km/h, and cause extreme
damage along their path.
 There are about 2000 thunderstorms active at any
moment on Earth.
 Air in the middle of a lightning strike can briefly
reach 30,0000C, five times the temperature of the
surface of the sun.
 The sound of thunder comes from the rapid
expansion of the heated air.
 Tropical cyclones are among the most violent of
storms. These violent storms are given different
names, such as ‘hurricanes’ in America and
‘typhoon’ in the Far East.
 Cyclones, typhoons or Hurricanes are all low
pressure systems driven by water vapour, which
condenses to form the high storm clouds
Bad Weather Jokes
How do you find out the weather when
you’re on vacation?
Go outside and look up.
How do hurricanes see?
With one eye!
What did the lightning bolt say to the other lightning bolt?
You're shocking!
Did you know you can see thunder and hear lightning!
Did you know you can hear lightening on your radio! If you tune your radio into an am frequency to a point
between stations you will hear static. Mixed in with the static you may hear loud pops. These pops are
lightening strikes. They are caused by a large electrical discharge interfering with the signal (a lightning strike).
Many storm chasers use this method to track storms. The louder the pop, the closer the storm.
It is also possible to see thunder. To do this you need a large lab with a big generator. The experiment carried
out to prove you can see thunder used slow motion cameras and candles. An artificial thunder and lightning
storm was created and candles lined up in a row and lit. When the lightning struck, thunder was created and
the candles were blown out one after another. The reason for this is because the thunder caused
shockwaves; due to hot air exploding outwards just like when you pop a balloon. The shockwave that does
the most damage is after the flash of lightening. This was also proved used a circle of light bulbs and creating
another artificial thunderstorm. Now I did say you can see thunder. Using very special slow-motion cameras
you can see the shockwave after the strike.
Rugby Union All Schools
Before Christmas, Mr Holliday took a group of pupil to Workington Zebras to design a new Rugby strip
for the school. After months of waiting the kit has been completed and will be revealed at
Twickenham Stadium before the England Vs Italy match on Saturday 14th February.
Matthew Bell was the name picked at random from a draw to be the one to unveil the new bespoke
school rugby kit that the pupils designed themselves. The kit will be unveiled to the 82,000 fans at the
England Vs Italy 6 Nations match game at Twickenham.
A massive well done to Louis Fearon, Kai Gilhespy, Zac Olstrom and Jack McCoubrey for designing
the shirt, who after half term will be going into assemblies to officially reveal the shirt to the school
and explain the reasons behind its design.
Furthermore, there will be competitions held between all of the
School involved with the All Schools programme in order to
showcase the new strips and the achievements of all the pupils
involved with the teams.
Rugby League
Tennis
The Year 8 rugby team have been knocked
out of the cup in a very disappointing manor.
Weather conditions postponed the original
game, and due to illness and several of the
players being absent during the rematch it
meant that we had to cancel the match.
15 of our pupils have been made tennis officials
this term with David Wise. These
pupils will now go on to officiate
in the Maryport, Allerdale
and Cumbria Primary Tennis
competitions.
Yeah! I am
someones
valentine and I
love chocolates.
Hmm, my favourite
flavour!
DOH! I’ll get you
next time Eddie.
The up and coming events happening at the Sports Centre during the Holidays.
NETHERHALL COMMUNITY
SPORTS CENTRE
FEBRUARY HALF TERM
for Derwent & Solway
residents aged between 8 & 12
 Transport provided at Ellenfoot Drive .
(Pick up : 9.45am / Drop off : 12.15pm)
 Bring along a packed lunch, drink and your swimming kit!
 ONLY 30 places available.
 Hand completed consent forms into the Derwent & Solway Office.
Wednesday 18th February 2015
10.00am-12.00pm
To book a place contact Netherhall
Community Sports Centre on
01900 813434 opt. 3
or visit www.netherhallcsc.com
NETHERHALL COMMUNITY
SPORTS CENTRE
For more information contact Netherhall Community Sports Centre
01900 813434 opt: 3 or www.netherhallcsc.com
February Half Term: 16th February—20th February 2015
For more information please contact us on 01900 813434 opt.3 or
visit our website at www.netherhallcsc.com
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Morning
7.10-9.00 Public & Members
9.00-10.00 Crash Course
10.30-11.30 Family Swim
7.10-9.00 Public & Members
9.00-10.00 Crash Course
10.30-11.30 Aquacise
7.10-9.00 Public & Members
9.00-10.00 Crash Course
10.00-11.00 Private Hire
11.00-12.00 Toddler Splash
7.10-9.00 Public & Members
9.00-10.00 Crash Course
10.00-11.00 Family Swim
11.00-12.00 50+ Swim
7.10-9.00 Public & Members
9.00-10.00 Crash Course
10.00-12.00 Staff Training
8.00-9.00 Adults Only
10.00-11.00 Public & Members
11.00-12.00 Private Hire
Lunchtime
Afternoon
12.00-1.00 50+ Swim
5.00-6.00 Family Swim
6.00-7.00 Public & Members
7.00 -8.00 Ladies Only
8.00-8.55 Adults Only
6.00-7.00 Public & Members
7.00-8.00 Adults Only
12.00-1.00 Adults Only
12.00-1.00 Adults Only
12.00-1.00 Adults Only
12.00-1.00 Adults Only
Evening
6.00-7.00 Public & Members
7.00 -8.00 Aquacise
8.00-8.55 Adults Only
2.45-3.45 Aquacise
5.00-6.00 Family Swim
6.00-7.00 Public & Members
7.00-7.55 Adults Only
Please note: - Alterations to the timetable will be kept to a minimum, but management reserve the right to amend the timetable when the need arises.
Any non swimmers must be accompanied by an adult.