Community Bulletin Week Ending 4th February 2018

Principal’s Message A great deal has been achieved this half term. We continue to work in partnership with the CoLAT with a view to joining the Trust next year. The benefits of this connection have been clear recently, with a visit to the Livery Careers Showcase at Guildhall. The Worshipful Company of Curriers have also made a donation which will help us continue our music enrichment work with the Voices Foundation. I am delighted with the designs for the new building. Weekly meetings with the architects, Grosvenor Estates and the Education Funding Agency means attention is given to the needs of each room and our community is set to have the building it deserves in September 2021. At Compass, our value of "community", recognises the role played by all stakeholders in making the school a success. Our newly elected Student Council will play a key role in the future development of the school. I look forward to regular meetings with them and to hearing their views and suggestions. We are also recruiting new governors; I have been impressed by the level of interest and diverse range of skills of those who have visited Compass with a view to joining us to serve our community. As a school with big ambitions for the future, I am pleased that our successes are being acknowledged by both current and prospective parents. We have a record number of applications for places in September with a significant boost in those making us their first or second choices. Due to this increased demand, we have increased our admission number to 120 places in Yr 7 from September 2018. Compass will however remain a small school, increasing to a maximum of 600 places from September 2021. Our internal parent surveys have been incredibly complimentary about our school and the work of our highly committed staff team. Your feedback is appreciated and is fed back to staff. I would like to congratulate our pupils for their efforts. So many have excelled this half-term with achievements including academic, extra-curricular and overcoming personal challenges such as public speaking. A special mention must go out to those who are in our 100% attendance club who have maintained or significantly improved their percentage over the last six weeks. Your commitment to learning will pay dividends, keep it up. Please see last page of the bulletin for draft timetables of these upcoming exams. A big thank you for all of your support this half term. Wishing you all a restful break!

Short Bulletin This Week This week, the bulletin is shorter than usual as this week we also publish ‘Our Journey’. Please ask your child/ren for the hard copy of ‘Our Journey’ issued today. Or find it online on our school website.

Yr 11 Art Trip to the V&A

Ms. Green led a Yr 11 art trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington yesterday.

Twelve Yr 11 Art students accompanied by Ms Helme, toddler Helme and Mr May to one of London’s most extraordinary museums. Each student had chosen a topic for their practical Art exam in April including topics such as ‘Light and Dark’ and ‘Materials’. Armed with their topic in mind, they used the afternoon to discover, photograph and sketch objects, paintings and ideas that inspired them along the way. During the first hour, students split into two groups and had a whistle stop tour of the Museum starting on the ground floor with the Islamic and Asia galleries. The groups moved through the British Galleries on the first floor, then to the Jewellery rooms, followed by contemporary and historical glass via architecture. The tours continued with a quick look at theatre and performance, whisked through painting and up to ceramics and furniture. The sixth floor position gave us a view down to the rotunda to where our journey had begun. We had lunch in the rather chilly gardens and then students went off to pursue their independent research. Daniel was curious about the ceramic snakes he had seen upstairs, whilst Jack had spotted some fish on an 18th Century cutlery set. Jade’s imagination was caught by an Antarctic explorer’s letter in a glass bottle, Kieran was fascinated by the sculptures on the ground floor and Charlie was taken by a beautiful tiara in the Jewellery galleries. We returned to school with phones, notebooks and imaginations crammed full of ideas ready to turn into Art!

Careers Visit to the Guildhall for some Year 9 Students

A select group of year 9 students attended the Annual Livery Showcase Event at Guildhall Art Gallery on the 6th of February as over 30 Livery Companies of the City of London enthralled them with an impressive range of career opportunities in the trades, industries and professions they represent. The focus of the event was to develop the partnership between Livery Companies and schools and to demonstrate how Livery Companies can help schools prepare students for the future. In a brief conversation with David Simmons chief organizer of the event, Mr. Simmons spoke of the need to “equip young people with the knowledge and skills to take their place in the workforce”, “to give young people a long term view” and “nurture and identify talent at an early stage”. He spoke of “looking out, looking ahead and broadening views and aspirations.” Apprentices, experienced craftsmen and professionals set out their stalls for an invited audience of over 600 students and their teachers from schools across London. The event also aimed to give students an idea of some career paths and job opportunities that don’t necessarily follow the university route. Numerous recently published articles have stated that over the next ten years, demand for workers will focus on higher level skills. Soft skills are gained through the experience of work but there are limited entry points into work hence fewer opportunities to gain them. It is important to increase both parent and young people’s awareness of non-university opportunities and alternative routes into work. Livery Companies, and indeed the 26,000 members of the Livery, can offer a menu of support: (1) Employment (2) Careers talks (3) Mentoring (4) Support for enterprise projects (5) Grants (6) Governorships There’s something for everyone and a wide choice of degrees of commitment. Students had a chance to talk to apprentices, under graduates and post-graduates as well as those who are more senior in their trade or profession in an informal setting while having some fun in taking part in challenges, practical activities and competitions.

https://twitter.com/CompassSE16/media for photos and videos.

This event was organised by Livery Schools Link, a volunteer organisation supporting education. LSL puts on events for schools and offers volunteering opportunities for members of the City Livery Companies.

It really was a dynamic and vibrant event that aimed to signpost students to a broad range of career paths and job opportunities across many disciplines which appeals to students of all abilities and ambitions. Talking to people from the trades and professions in an informal atmosphere was a wonderful opportunity for students to broaden their employment horizons and raise their aspirations. Students had a great morning as many of the stands were interactive and all ensured young representatives and apprentices were available to talk to students.

Saturday and Half-Term Master Classes Master Classes will take place this Saturday, the 10th of February and every following Saturday at Compass School. Master Classes will also take place throughout the Half-Term week. Please remind your child to arrive on time to every session at which they are expected. Whether or not they are invited to take part in Master Classes over next week, we congratulate Yr11 on their perseverance to carry on revising through the holidays!

Art Trip to South London Gallery Camberwell 20th February Ms Green, Ms Helme and Mr May will be taking 50 students from Yrs 7, 8 and 9 to South London Gallery, not far from Compass School in Camberwell. Students will get the opportunity to see works of art from the gallery collections and any temporary exhibitions.

School Nurse Vaccine Visit for Yr 9 on 27th March The school nurses will be coming in on 27th March 2018 to give year 9 boys and girls their Teenage Boosters. The injections are: The Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio (Td/Ipv) Meningococcal ACWY MenACWY) Please ensure that the form is filled in and returned to Student Support Office by 17th March 2018. Please contact the school office should you have further questions or need another copy of the form.

Anti-Bullying Mentoring for Compass Students by ‘The Diana Award’ The Diana Award is awarded to courageous, caring, compassionate young people, transforming the lives of others in the name of Diana, Princess of Wales. “Diana Award holders come from all walks of life and many have challenging and disadvantaged backgrounds, however they share a deep sense of social responsibility. They could be giving up their time to mentor other students, a young carer, taking part in anti-bullying initiatives, fundraising or campaigning for a cause close to their heart. Whatever they are doing, they have one thing in common, a desire to make a difference and improve the lives of others. Our mission is to foster, develop and inspire positive change in the lives of young people. We know that if young people are encouraged for their efforts, they are empowered to reach their full potential and feel confident they can make change happen.” Alongside Ms Millburn, volunteers from ‘The Diana Award’ have been working with Compass students, they will continue to come into Compass School fortnightly until the end of the school year. They will be working with Compass anti-bullying ambassadors together with advertising and branding company OMD UK to create campaigns to tackle bullying in schools.

Exam Prep for Yr 10 Mocks in February and Yr 11 Mocks in March Please see end of Bulletin for Draft Timetables of Mocks and GCSEs Year 11 is flying by and in just under 9 school weeks, Year 11 will be sitting their GCSE exams. In 12 months, Year 10 will be in exactly the same position and we want to ensure they can approach their final examination with confidence that they will reach the destination to which they aspire. We want to ensure that your child has as much practise as possible of the types of papers and questions that will determine their level of success next year and develop the habits of preparation now. We will therefore be running our first set of Mock Examinations for Yr 10 from March 5th – 16th. These will consist of the sections of actual GCSE papers for which they have studied in their curriculum; these will provide the best indication yet of how they are performing academically. They need your support. This is now the time to focus on maximising your child’s performance and every minute must count. Please ensure your child/ren:

Attend school every day with the right attitude so nothing distracts from their learning. Ensure they attend all interventions as these are essential for them to catch up on work missed in

previous years.

Plan their revision at home using their revision timetable. Utilise online platforms such as GCSE Pod, MyMaths and Show My Homework. Ensure they get plenty of exercise, sleep and eat healthily.

This is critical time in your child’s educational career and excelling in year 10 is the best possible preparation for year 11. It is therefore critical that no time is wasted in our collective endeavours to help them achieve their goals. Cramming at the last minute is the least effective revision strategy, while little and often will give them the best chance of success.

Coming up next week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Year 11 Half-Term Master Classes Perseverance!

12th

Art P.E.

Master Classes

13th

Graphics Media

Master Classes

14th

English

Master Classes

15th

Maths Science

Master Classes

16th

Geography

Master Classes

Coming up the week after next Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Opportunities For All 19th

Return to school

20th

Art Trip to South London Gallery

Yrs 7,8 &9

21st

Yr 11 Mock Exams Begin

22nd

Yr 11 Mock Exams Continue

23rd

Yr 11 Mock Exams Continue

10/02/18 – Masterclasses for Year 11 9:00am Maths, English, Science, P.E. 26/02/18 – ‘Esteem’ Visit for students 07/03/18 – Communitea Parent Forum – Parents/Carers monthly chance to meet with members of the Senior Leadership Team -3:45-4:30. Please email squigley@compass-schools.com if you’d like to attend.

14/03/18 – Compass Creative Communitea – Parents/Carers and Compass younger siblings are invited to Compass School Library for creative activities, tea and cake. 3:45-4:30. Please email squigley@compass-schools.com if you’d like to attend.

27/03/18 – School Nurse Vaccination Visit for Yr 9 Please visit the school website and follow us on Twitter for further information.

http://www.compass-schools.com/

https://twitter.com/CompassSE16?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.compass-

schools.com%2F

Reminder - Show My Homework

A way to record, track and monitor homework at Compass School. Apps are available for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android devices. Please get in touch if you are experiencing any issues. To view all homework set without login details please visit http://www.compass-schools.com/ the link for Show My Homework is on our ‘ For students’ and then ‘online learning’ page. Please note you will need to use the filter options at the top of the page to find your child’s homework.