What a fantastic final week of term for Year 7! We have enjoyed lots of exciting events this week.
Firstly, we have had an overwhelming amount of donations for the foodbank and as a school we donated a huge 575.8 kilos of food to local foodbank in the Meadows. A special mention to tutor set 7.5, who donate over 100 items between them alone. The kindness and generosity to give to this cause has been incredible across the Year 7 students so a huge THANK YOU to all involved.
We have also enjoyed a visit on Tuesday from author, Phil Earle, who inspired students with a captivating talk this week. Students have been reading his book, As the Storm Rages, in tutor set every Tuesday this term and left his talk inspired to use the world around them for future creative inspiration in their own writing. In the afternoon, Phil worked with a group of students in the learning lounge for a Creative Writing workshop. Thank you so much to Phil Earle for taking the time to visit us.
On Thursday, we enjoyed a festive achievement assembly in which we celebrated all the fantastic achievements from this term. Well done to 7.12 who won the Tutor Champion prize and to all the individuals who received recognition for their amazing efforts this term.
On Friday, we are looking forward to our first Christmas Assembly, led by SLT. Miss Marshall, Miss Barker and the whole Year 7 Team would like to wish all students and their families a very restful and Happy Christmas.
See you in the New Year!
Head of Year 7: Miss B Marshall
Assistant Head of Year 7: Miss H Barker
Year 8 have had a busy week in the run up to the Christmas break.
On Monday students took all of their advent calendar contributions down to reception so it could be taken to be donated, as a school we donated nearly 500kg of food but that was only in the first trip!
Achievement Assembly on Tuesday was such a positive event, well done to all of our prize winners and a huge thank you to Miss Jordan for organising.
Mr Mordue did an assembly on staying safe over Christmas on Wednesday, tutors read out loud on Thursday and then Friday was spent wishing each other well before the huge SLT Christmas Assembly during period 2. The performances from the Year 8 band were amazing and such a special way to end the year.
We would like to wish all of our students and their families a wonderful Christmas break and we look forward to seeing you all in 2023.
Best wishes
Head of Year 8: Mr D Mordue
Assistant Head of Year 8: Miss L Jordan
Well done Year 9, what a fantastic start to the school year. We are proud of how well the Year 9 students have conducted themselves this term. Students are continuing to work hard in lessons and as a year group we have achieved 31,165 positive points this half term. Well done Year 9! On Wednesday morning we celebrated our half term achievements through our end of term Achievement Assembly. It has been great to recognise so many students in our assembly, with many students receiving more than one award. We have recognised students for positive behaviour points, star of the lesson award, and tutor nominations. Students were also recognised for their attendance to Extended Study sessions this half term. We are very proud of the Year 9 reports and this was also celebrated in our Achievement Assembly. We celebrated students who have achieved 5+ average Attitude to Learning and Home Learning, along with the most improved Attitude to Learning and Home Learning scores.
We also included attendance awards in our assembly. Students were recognised for 100% attendance and excellent attendance. We have spent time, during tutor set this half term, sharing attendance information with students and it was fantastic to see so many students receiving an attendance award this half term! Thank you to parents and carers for your continued support with attendance.
Well done to Owen 9.5 who was first place for positive points this half term, with 287 positive points. Well done to Elliot (9.5) and Gabija (9.4) for achieving 274 positive points (2nd Place) and Oscar (9.4) for achieving 264 positive points. Well done! Trinity (9.7) was recognised for achieving 19 Star of the Lesson awards this half term! Luke (9.10) was in 1st place for Extended Study, attending 9 sessions this half term, well done!
Finally, thank you again to parents/carers for your continued support. It was fantastic to recognise so many students during our Achievement Assembly and we are very proud of the achievements in the year group. We wish students and their families a safe and happy Christmas and New year.
Well done Year 9, keep up the excellent work. We look forward to welcoming you back on Monday 9th January 2023!
Head of Year 9: Miss I Sheldon
Assistant Head of Year 9: Miss A Lloyd
As we reach the end of what has felt like a whirlwind term back at Toot Hill, it is a great opportunity to reflect on the successes and events of this first (and longest!) term of the school year.
We started the year widening our perspectives with events like the European Day of Languages and the trip to see An Inspector Calls in Stoke on Trent.
After half term, we celebrated student success in our prestigious Achievement Evening in Kellam Hall, and enjoyed more culture with a trip to see Noughts and Crosses.
More recently we looked forward to the future with a trip to the Expo Careers Fair and spoke to many prospective employers - this will be invaluable as we move on to our Work Experience focus after Christmas.
Finally, the cherry on the festive cake was the Christmas Concert - thanks you to Mr Seymour and his team for allowing the talent of our students to shine through so magnificently.
We hope you all have a wonderful, happy and safe holiday season - whatever and however you are celebrating, and a Happy New Year!
Head of Year 10: Mrs L Munro
Assistant Head of Year 10: Miss C Thomas
In our final week of this half term, Year 11 have continued to work incredibly hard. They have all relished the opportunity to continue to look at their destinations for post 16. This has allowed students to really focus on where they wish to apply next year. The deadline for Toot Hill College applications is the 13th January 2023, please let your child’s tutor know if you require any assistance with this.
Alongside this, we have celebrated the Year 11 students’ achievements with them in our Christmas Achievement Assembly. It was a pleasure to see some students pass the 400 points mark for credits.
In the new year, we are excited to see you again at Parents Evening, the Careers Fair, and GCSE Information Evenings.
Please click on the link to sign up to the Careers Fair https://www.toothillschool.co.uk/forms/careers_2023.php
We hope all of our Year 11 students a fantastic break.
We wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Head of Year 11: Miss L Hughes
Year 11 Achievement Leader: Mr R Wickens
Photos of the Week
Students from Toot Hill are engaged in some fantastic activities this week. For the Physical section, Jack A has been playing rugby and Erin B has been out walking - seeing swans while out on one expedition. For Skill, Ellie E has been improving her blending and colouring, Oliver S has cooked up a stir-fry, Emily G has created some wonderfully colourful Christmas cupcakes (which she donated to an NHS urgent care centre), and Ben F has made a roast dinner with all the trimmings.
Christmas Holidays
Over the Christmas break, all DofE participants are encouraged to keep up their activities where possible. For some students the break will provide the time they need to upload details of their physical, volunteering and skill activities to eDofE. We know that pupils who get organized early are more likely to complete their Award in good time so any support parents can give to achieving this goal is hugely appreciated. May I wish you all the best for a fun and restful festive break.
Useful DofE Links
Click for Ideas for Skill, Physical & Volunteering Activities, DofE Activity Log and DofE Assessor Report
Dates for Your Diary
FAQ's – see www.toothillschool.co.uk/dofe
Mr Tinsley
mtinsley@toothillschool.co.uk
The Learning Lounge hosted a visit to school by author Phil Earle on Tuesday.
Phil gave a talk to the whole of year 7 on how he came to be a writer, the stories that have inspired him and the importance of the underdog in telling a story! The students thought of some really great responses to Phil's questions and asked some very good questions themselves. Year 7s are currently reading Phil's book While the Storm Rages in tutor time.
Following on from the talk, Phil took time to sign students' books and bookmarks and then in the afternoon he held a writing workshop in the Learning Lounge. The 30 students who had signed up for the workshop were coached through writing a prologue based on some prompts provided by Phil. Some wonderfully imaginative writing was produced.
Last Wednesday saw us close out a busy term of music making with our Christmas Celebration. Our students performed wonderfully as part of our school ensembles as well as selected soloists. The audience left with festive cheer having been stunned by the hard work and dedication of our students.
If anyone else is interested in our ensembles at school, please see Mr Seymour after Christmas to get involved!
Merry Christmas to all our community from Toot Hill Music Department.
Toot Hill School
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