NewsletterMarch 2017

Dear Parents/Carers

As we come to the end of another busy term I would like to wish year 11, 12 and 13 good luck in their forth coming examinations. I know that they are working extremely hard to achieve the best grades possible and the staff are striving to provide additional support, revision guidance and advice at this critical stage of their education.

Year 10 students are making applications to become prefects and many are looking forward to the opportunities of demonstrating their leadership skills across the wider school community. This will give them experiences and training and support them with applications to further education and employment.

As a result of the positive responses from students and parents the governors have approved the new sports kit for September 2017. The original kit will still be able to be worn but we will be gradually introducing the new sports kit to our new intake year 7 students from September 2017 and any student who needs to purchase new sports kit going forward. We hope they will enjoy wearing the new kit and any parent who is concerned about the financial impact of this change should contact their Head of Year in the first instance. The PE supplier will be yourschooluniform.com and you will receive full details of this in the next few weeks.

I would like to thank parents for their support during the recent communications regarding school funding and would welcome your expertise and time with reinstating ‘Friends of Taverham’ so we can ensure students are able to receive those extra resources and opportunities we have always been able to provide. I am determined that our young people will get a rich and varied educational experience which is what they so rightly deserve.

Enjoy the Easter break with your friends and family.

Best wishes

Ms C DallasHeadteacher

Help Caitlin reach her 2017 targetYear 7 pupil Caitlin Thomson loves swimming, so much so she’s decided to challenge herself to swim 2017 lengths in 2017, with the aim of raising £2,017 for the East Anglian Children’s Hospice (EACH)Caitlin will need to swim around 40 lengths a week to reach her target. To date Caitlin has raised just over £300, you can sponsor Caitlin at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/CaitlinSwim2017

UK Senior Maths ChallengeOn the 3rd November Dr Stangoe and a team of 4 mathematicians went to the City of Norwich School for the regional finals of the UK Senior Maths Challenge team event. The team consisted of two year thirteens: Matthew Hazelwood and Will Card, and two year twelves: Jack Rolf-Göke and Ellen Flower.

We had three challenging rounds: a team round, a mathematical crossword and a shuttle round. The team round was very difficult and we struggled to get many of the answers. We pulled it back with the crossword, getting almost 100% of the correct answers and receiving a special mention. A good performance in the shuttle round finished off the day.

Our overall score was 107/177 – placing us 7th out of the 21 qualifying schools. We achieved our best ranking ever. The year before last, Taverham High came 21st and last year we managed to place 14th. By my calculations, next year, if this trend continues, we’ll place 1st!

The same team of four entered Integral Maths’ Ritangle competition. One extremely challenging question was released every day for 28 days and on the 28th day a question to amalgamate all previous answers was released. After much hard work, we submitted our overall answer and were relieved when we heard that it was correct. We were one of just nineteen teams in the country that worked out the correct answer.

Alumni EventMrs Painter hosted the first alumni event in the pavilion on the Friday 6th January. It was fantastic to see so many of last year’s upper sixth some of whom were pursuing careers or apprenticeships in Norwich, and others who were home from university. Members of staff were able catch up and to chat; with pictures of the prom on a slideshow, staff and ex-students were full of reminiscences and anecdotes.

Many alumni have agreed to return to talk about their experiences post-Taverham High. We look forward to welcoming them back.

Year 6 Students visit to THS Design & Technology DepartmentOn Monday 6th February fourteen Y6 students from St Michaels Junior school in Bowthorpe visited the Design & Technology department to manufacture their door sign that they had designed in a competition run by Mr Mitchell. The pupils worked extremely hard and produced some brilliant designs ready to be cut on our laser cutter.

Rotary Design & Technology CompetitionAt the 2017 Rotary Design and Technology Competition, students were tasked with building a model vehicle to traverse through a pipeline to remove and recover some ‘debris’. The school took a team of 4 from years 9, 10 & 12. The Year 12 team consisting of Jack Rolf-Gokes, Hashim Noordally, Megan Cann and Tom White were hard pressed to come up with a feasible design for their more advanced task. However, they managed to finish their working prototype just in time. Despite not having high hopes, they ended coming second which proved a great end to the day.

THS Ski Trip 2017 – Val Di FiemmeFebruary half term saw 37 excitable students and 4 staff head off to the Dolomites in Italy for the first ski trip in a few years at Taverham. After enduring a long 26 hour coach journey, students and staff were greeted with blue skies, sunshine and plenty of snow. Over the 5 days students had 5 hours per day of professional and experienced ski lessons with qualified instructors. We had a beginners, intermediate, advanced and snowboarding group. Everyone who attended made massive progress on the slopes, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the views from the top of the mountains!!!

Not only did we see some beautiful sights of the views from the mountains, but in the evenings we also went shopping, ate plenty of ice cream, swimming and always had story time to fill each other in on other peoples ‘dipstick of the day’ moments.Pizza and pasta was on offer every day to fuel our students ready for those long, yet fun days skiing, along with lots of falls and bumps to the ground.

A special mention goes to Joe Chapman in year 10, who sadly broke his wrist snowboarding on day 1, poor Joe had to put up with teacher chat every day, whilst his mates were busy snowboarding, however, Joe remained positive and resilient and is keen to go next year!!

The ski trip staff would like to thank the students for a fantastic week, and for being a real credit to the school. All students were very well behaved and made a lasting impression on all the staff who worked with them in Italy.

Here’s to next year’s trip! Get involved…….

Visit from Poet Beau HopkinsTaverham Sixth Form was extremely grateful for the visit of Mr Beau Hopkins, a published poet and teacher from the University of East Anglia. English Literature students within the Sixth Form were given the opportunity to meet and talk to him about his studies, and where the pursuit of higher level Literature took him. This provided an excellent example for Years 12 & 13 of the opportunities that Literature may provide for them in the future. Students engaged in an intriguing talk about his studies for his PhD in Creative and Critical Writing. He also spoke of his background at Oxford University, the path that led him via working as a lawyer to take a creative writing MA at the UEA, and his experience in teaching the works of Shakespeare. This was highly valuable for students within the group looking for practical applications of Literature in higher education. The main focus of the talk was his deep interest in Romantic poetry and especially John Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale, a poem studied in the Y13 curriculum. Students were provided with invaluable insight into the mind and process of a poet, through the exploration of Keats’s emotions behind the lines of his poem. Ode to a Nightingale was brought to life through Mr Hopkins’s ability to explore the narrative, constructing a train of thought behind specific words, and painting a picture students were easily able to access and connect with. Emotional content and its importance in poetry were heavily focused on, and allowed us to fully appreciate not only the hard work and effort behind writing, but the intense emotion that is involved in its creation. Overall the students were given an amazing experience. We were able to take away information on the practical applications of Literature, but were also given a unique view of the emotional side, making it easier to gain inspiration and improve our writing on a personal level.Sophia Ioakim

Open Provision ProjectA group of Year 7 students have been attending The Open provision in Norwich on a Thursday for Four sessions. This project will continue over the next few months with more students in the year group. The focus of the project is to increase team building skills and confidence in working with others. The initial session involved working with each other, problem solving and untying ropes. There was a challenge to the group who attempted to transport a tennis ball around the whole building without dropping it (not using their hands) and session three was Orienteering. The project culminated in supporting each other to climb the indoor climbing wall. Many of the group made it further than they initially thought they would at the beginning of the project. This project was really successful, a huge thanks to Karl and Dan from Open for their support. Taverham High School really enjoyed the opportunity to work together, a project that will be repeated in the future. In the space of four weeks, we have seen pupils grow in confidence and attempt things they never thought possible. Several of our girls developed strong leadership skills and confidence, learning how to deal with their frustrations. It was great in the first week to have some students from Norwich City College working with us; our pupils felt this helped them talk to others. They were able to take this back to school in a positive way as a new skill.

REMINDER - UniformPlease name all items that are brought into school including footwear, pencil cases, bags and all items of uniform and clothing as this helps us to promptly return any lost property to their rightful owner.

Cycling To and From SchoolWe always want to encourage cycling but would ask that parents regularly remind students about safe cycling. Local residents sometimes tell us that THS students are cycling in large groups down busy roads when they should be single file. Similarly, some are cycling on pavements creating a danger for pedestrians. If cycling in the dark, please ensure that high visibility clothing is worn and lights are used. Finally, we would encourage all to wear a helmet.

Second Hand UniformWe have a large selection of second hand uniform, for more details please contact the school reception.

Friends of Taverham High SchoolWe would also like to reinstate the ‘Friends of Taverham High School’, a group of voluntary fundraisers. If you would like to offer to become part of this group please contact Caroline Ross at the school.

Journey Disruption During Exam TimesWe have been notified of the pending road closures, with the on going NDR road works over the next few months. Much of the B1149 Holt Road traffic will be using Reepham Road, via the new Drayton Lane. Therefore, students sitting examinations during May and June may need to allow extra journey time to arrive in school prior to the start of their exam.

Congratulations!We would like to congratulate Mr Dale Timbers who has been designated as a Specialist Leader of Education through the Encompass Teaching School Alliance. There was a rigorous selection process and we are delighted that Mr Timbers has achieved this status. Mr Timbers will now be able to provide support and training to other schools and use his expertise to benefit our own students.

Our recent annual Raising and Giving week (RAGFest) to raise money for Young Minds a mental health charity as well as the Drayton Junior School swimming pool fund has been a great success. As a school we feel it is important to support our young people’s health and wellbeing and this charity plays a significant part. In addition we also feel it is important to support a valuable community asset that is the Drayton Junior swimming pool.

The week was facilitated by our 6th form students with the support from the rest of the school as well as our staff. This year we had a wide range of activities, including a staff-student bake off, a sponsored beard shave, quiz and chips as well as a RAGFest gig. The amount raised from this week is in excess of £4000 at present.In addition we have now launched the sale of our prize draw tickets which are on sale for £1 per tickets with prizes including a NCFC signed football shirt, 3 month membership of Crossfit Saxon, a voucher for Congo Rapids Adventure Golf, round of golf for 4 compliments of Wensum Valley Hotel as well as many more. Tickets are available for sale from both Taverham High School and Drayton Junior School.

On April 26th we will be having a Fashion Show which will be held at House of Fraser Norwich, this event will see our Sixth Form Students organise and model at this event. This looks to be a memorable evening with not just a fashion show but also workshops and special offers on the evening. Tickets will be available from the High School at a cost of £5 per person. We look forward to seeing you at this events and hope to increase our fundraising by much more.

Should you have any queries regarding these forthcoming events please contact Arlene Warwick on 01603 860505 or by email A_warwick@taverhamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk

Taverham High Becomes a ‘Be Real’ SchoolWorking with two other members of the Norfolk Future Leaders’ Crew and YMCA Norfolk, I have decided to undertake a project to increase awareness of the Be Real body image campaign in Norfolk, starting with Taverham High School.The Be Real Campaign was jointly founded by the YMCA and Dove, and has partners including Facebook, Superdrug, New Look and the Government Equalities Office. The Be Real Campaign is working to change attitudes to body image and to help us all put health above appearance and be confident in our bodies. As students are particularly vulnerable to the messages transmitted by social media, I believe that it is vitally important that they feel confident about their own bodies so they can interrogate and challenge these messages to avoid unhealthy and damaging behaviours A recent study by the Be Real campaign found that over three quarters of students aged 11-16 said that learning about body confidence made them feel better about themselves. Working with Mrs Barker, the head of Personal Development, and a team of Sixth Formers I will be spending time with Year 8 students in their Personal Development lessons to help them to develop a positive attitude towards their body image and give them access to useful resources on the subject should they need them. I am also in the process of arranging a Key Stage 3 assembly on body image, taken by the YMCA. This project is something that I feel truly passionately about and I hope that you will join me in supporting and raising awareness of this fantastic campaign!For more information and helpful resources for both students and teachers, please visit: www.berealcampaign.co.uk

Ellen Flower, Deputy Head Girl and Be Real Ambassador

Learning to Learn Day 2017 As part of our drive at THS to encourage our pupils to become resourceful, resilient learners, the whole school took part in our ‘Learning to Learn Day’ where everybody was given the opportunity to focus on how

they learn, rather than what they learn. In every lesson, pupils focused on the process of learning as opposed to the outcome, and celebrated the mistakes made as a vital part of the learning process. The feedback from students and staff was positive and, alongside our resilience tutor time activities, the day has aided students in improving their ability to take ownership of their learning. More details on Learning to Learn Day will follow in the THS Resilience Newsletter which will be published on the website

Family Awareness Day at University of Suffolk I am pleased to announce that our next Family Awareness Day will be held at the University of Suffolk on Saturday 29th April 2017.Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 and their parents/guardians are invited along to our Ipswich campus to find out more about studying a degree at university. We understand that higher education seems a long way off but as we are sure you are aware, the choices made at school may affect their choices at 16 and 18. This is a free event, which runs from 11.30am – 3pm and a fantastic opportunity to learn more about university and to meet with current University of Suffolk students. During the event students will take part in a fun programme of activities, while parents learn more about the benefits of higher education and student finance. A tour of the campus and a free buffet lunch will be provided for all attendees. Students and parents can find further information and book a place via this link: http://www.uos.ac.uk/fadFor further information students and parents can email schools@uos.ac.uk

MFL LeadersThe Year 10 MFL leaders have been working hard. Their MFL award consisted of five modules, which all contain tasks relating to the teaching and learning of Modern Languages. So far the leaders have completed three topics, including a project on a country which speaks their chosen language, delivering a Christmas lesson for some Year 7 classes and organising a scavenger hunt for Key Stage 3 pupils involving important items of vocabulary. Their next projects will involve creating an activity for their own GCSE group and then visiting a junior school to take part in some lessons and special events there. The award will be completed by the end of Year 10.

German ExchangeWe are looking forward to the next part of the German Exchange. This year will mark 35 years since the exchange first took place between Taverham High School and the Gymnasium am Turmhof. We hosted 33 pupils from Germany and their teachers from 22nd-29th March, and our return visit is scheduled for 21st -28th June. During their time here, our visitors enjoyed trips to Norwich Castle, Cambridge and Cromer beach. We hope that they enjoyed their time here. Thank you to all of the families who hosted pupils – the exchange simply would not survive without your kindness and hospitality.Mrs Gerrard

French PenpalsSome students in Year 8 have had the opportunity to write letters to a French school near Lille in France. They got matched up with their new pen pal and they wrote a response in French. They introduced themselves, expressed their interests and wrote about their hobbies. Some pupils included pictures of the area that they live in, their families and even their pets! We are now patiently waiting a response from our partners. Miss Curran

Year 7 have recently produced some fantastic work in Modern Foreign Languages. Here are some of the fantastic family trees that they have designed as a project to complete the topic of family and pets.

Family Tree Project

Design Museum & Victoria & Albert Museum Trip

Each year students from Year 10 and Year 12 Design & Technology classes go to London. Not only is it good to visit our capital and show them what it is like to be outside their everyday environment but it also shows how important design is in our everyday lives and what a valuable subject it is to be studying in school.

East Region Floor & Vault Gymnastics CompetitionOn Tuesday 28th February the Taverham High Gymnastics Team went to the East Region Floor and Vault Gymnastics Competition. There were three teams from Taverham, the U14 girls, U19 girls and U19 boys team. Taverham had to do the vault first, then the floor, after warming up they all did warm ups and runs and did well! Next was the floor routines, the girls were allowed music but the boys weren’t. The squad performed brilliantly and did their absolute best that they could do. The U14 girl’s team came 9th, the U19 girls came 7th. Unfortunately new regulations that they weren’t aware of led to a loss of content points for the girls, they would have medalled without these deductions! Against all odds the U19 boys came 3rd with bronze medals. Well done to all of the Gymnastics Squad!

Alex Parsons

Skydive for HallswoodOn 8th April 2017, I will be doing a Skydive to raise money for Hallswood Animal Sanctuary. Hallswood is a non-profitable organisation who care for all forms of wildlife and in special cases, will offer care and support to domesticated animals and birds. They have a no kill policy and works to rehabilitate and release. If anyone would like to make a donation, you can do so at: https://justgiving.com/crowdfunding/SkydiveForHallswoodAnimalSanctuary or cash donations can be given to me at school. Any donations will be greatly appreciated and will go straight to Hallswood as the Skydive has been personally funded.

Hannah Yallop

International Womens DayYear 12 organised a debate, in the library, to celebrate IWD this year. The questions they were raising were:(1) Is feminism still relevant in the 21C?(2) Is there still a glass ceiling (for women’s pay)? (3) Are we aware of the negative power of the language we use?

With speakers for and against each motion, and an audience keen to be involved, there were some very interesting points made by both sides and quite passionately too. The question of language was particularly strongly argued, with the expression ‘man-up’ being seen as negative term by several students. Talia Adams and Caroline Smith particularly argued against its use. Talia had strong opinions, which she backed up with research, on the negative impact ‘man-up’ can have on boys and young men and their mental health. The overall feeling was that boys should be allowed to feel vulnerable and be comfortable in expressing their feelings in the same way that girls are usually more able to do.

Parent ForumParent Forums provide an excellent opportunity for us to engage with parents, providing guidance and support on different topics.On Tuesday 14th March we held our second Parents Forum of the year. We offered different workshops with the main focus being Teaching and Learning with an extra session on Online Protection. Parents were able to attend two of the following 30 minute workshops:

Developing Resilience – Led by David Hyett (Assistant Headteacher)

Developing resilience with our students is an integral part of helping them become responsible, independent learners. We have been working hard to develop strategies to encourage our students to become more resilient to help them fulfil their potential. This workshop covered:• What resilience is and why it is important• What the benefits are of developing resilience in our students• The strategies we are developing in school to promote and develop resilience with our students• How parents/carers can support at home to develop resilience

Marking and Feedback - Led by Lucy Curran (Head of Faculty)Providing high quality feedback is a crucial part of the learning process and contributes significantly to the progress students are making. The way in which we approach marking and feedback has developed in recent years and this workshop will explore our school approach to ensuring students receive high quality feedback to support their learning. The workshop included:• How and why feedback is important • Different types of feedback that we believe are most effective for our students • How we are developing our school wide and faculty approach to marking and feedback• How parents/carers can support students with their learning and response to feedback

How to support your child making progress in Maths – Led by Justin Gerrad (Head of Faculty)Supporting your child with mathematics at home is an important part of their learning and progress. However, it can be very difficult and challenging to ensure support is purposeful and relevant. This workshop included:• An overview of how maths is taught at THS• Strategies on how parents/carers can support students to make the best possible progress in maths

Child Exploitation and Online Protection – Led by Michelle Warren (PCSO)Parents were invited to attend this session that reviews how we can keep our children safe when they are online. It also discussed the concerns regarding sexting and social media, giving guidance in how to support your children to be sensible and safe. The forum was very well attended and offered us an opportunity to explore in detail the different workshops and discuss how parents/carers could support at home. Strengthening the way in which we communicate with parents is really important to us and we have been delighted with the positive feedback we have received.

If you would like more information on any of these workshops or to download the presentations that were given please visit our school website and click on the following link http://www.taverhamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk/parent-forum

Our next Parents Forum is on Wednesday 17 May 2017. If parents have any further ideas regarding topics for future parent forums or workshops please contact C_Ross@taverhamhigh.norfolk.sch.uk

Improving Attendance at Taverham High SchoolThank you to all our parents who are supporting us to improve attendance.

Our aim is to raise whole school attendance to 96%. In order to do this we aim to have a whole school approach to support good attendance.

As you are aware students’ attendance is linked very closely to their attainment. The government has stated that attendance is a key factor to the progress students make at GCSE level and classes any student under 90% as a persistent absentee.

A new system of rewards will be in place for the Summer Term and will be as follows.

• For Year 7 and 8 - if students have been in school and on time for the full week they will receive a sticker.

• For Year 9 - students 100% attendance each week will be banked towards a treat at Hautbois.

• For Year 10 - students weekly 100% attendance will lead to an attendance BBQ in July.

• For Year 11 - students 100% attendance will equate to the cost of the Year 11 breakfast being met by school.

Students attendance will be updated weekly by their Form Tutors.

Between 18 April and July 1st Students in years 9, 10 and 11 will be expected to gain 100% attendance each week in order to qualify for the rewards. We do of course understand that there are, in certain cases, reasons why a student is absent from school for appointments or medical reasons and these will be taken into consideration when the rewards are given out.

These rewards will run alongside the certificates already in place which are given to the Form with the highest attendance in each year group each week. This leads to a termly attendance trophy for the Form with the highest cumulative attendance, again raising the profile of the importance of this.

We look to introduce a traffic light system informing parents termly of their children’s attendance. You will receive a green letter commending your child for good attendance if it is above the school target of 96%, an amber letter if your child’s attendance is between 93% and 96% and a red letter if your child’s attendance is below 93%. Our aim is to keep you informed as parents and carers and hope that you will work closely with us.

Thank you for your continued support.

Netball SeasonAnother successful season for the netball teams in years 7-11. All teams have competed in the Norwich Schools District League playing and demonstrating a high level of competitive Netball. The girls have trained and fought hard this season to secure some fantastic results. With many wins across the board, this has led to some fantastic finishing positions for the teams. Year 7’s – 5th Year 8’s – 2nd Year 9’s – 1st Year 10’s – 3rd Year 11’s – 5th Due to the huge success of the Year 9 team coming first in the league, they were through to the league finals which were held on March 18th at UEA. There they competed to a very high level, demonstrating a positive and determined mind-set. The girls came up against some very tough teams but never gave up hope. They finished 3rd in their pool, coming out as top state school. A massive well done to them all.Well done to all the Netball teams this season, we look forward to next year.

Sports Leaders Well done to the Year 10 Sports Leadership team who have had another successful term delivering some high quality leadership across many sports working closely with the local primary schools. Many leaders have dedicated numerous hours in their free time to develop into inspiring and profession young leaders. A special mention goes to Laura Flower and Jasmin Snelling who have successfully become part of the Sports Leadership Academy for West Norfolk, developing talented young leaders. These girls thoroughly deserve their place and have a bright future in leadership ahead of them.

Girl ActivatorsA big well done to our team of girl activators who are a reliable bunch, who week in, week out, attend Girls Active and offer a wide range of activities to the younger girls in the school. A very successful year so far, reaching some big numbers attending. We look forward to getting out in the sunshine soon for some summer activities. Make sure you get along to Girls Active to gain your hours for the Sports Award.

World Book DayForms were given the challenge of decorating their form room doors using a book theme for WBD this year. There were many great ideas and a lot of work and effort went into creating some terrific doors, taking inspiration from Hunger Games to Alice in Wonderland, from Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings to Nineteen Eight Four:

Taverham High School, a limited company registered in England and Wales under company number 08204680.

At a time of increasing financial constraints the school is looking for other fundraising opportunities. As a result we have formed a fundraising alliance with Pymm and Co. We anticipate that over the coming year our fundraising will be substantially enhanced by this alliance. Pymm and Co have provided us with the following details:

‘Pymm and Co Estate Agents, are delighted to advise that for property sales instructions received we will donate a sum equivalent to 20% of our fee received directly to the Taverham High School on successful sale of property.

The offer is available for: THS Staff, Current and Past Parents and their family members.

In addition, there is reduced conveyance costs via any one of our five recommended solicitor firms should anyone wish to use one of those five firms, although there is no obligation in this regard. Pymm and Co are the leading independent multi-branch estate agents servicing Norfolk, offering clients a first class customer experience, unrivalled marketing initiatives, strong brand awareness and an honest no cost marketing appraisal including valuation. We also invest substantially in our after sales service, liaising with all parties very regularly in order to facilitate smooth transactions. Pymm and Co are very proud of this aspect’.

Kris PearceAssociate Partner

I’m sure you will agree it’s a generous offer and gives us a further opportunity to maintain the high educational provision at THS. In the first instance Pymm and Co should be contacted on 01603 260700.

Please remember to quote Taverham High School in your initial communication. Pymm and Co would be very happy to provide a free valuation and market appraisal.