The John Of Gaunt School Parent Portal

Dear all

I hope you have all been able to have a good week in this second period of lockdown.

This week our Year 11 finished off their mock exams whilst our Year 13 started their exams. I have been so pleased with both year groups dedication and hard work and tenacity, their approach and preparation has been brilliant. This week you may have heard that Wales are changing the way they allocate their GCSE’s. Our Government have been clear that they want all GCSE and A-Levels exams to take place as normal next summer, although they have given up to three additional weeks extra learning time. This week, the Government have produced a useful question and answer blog to help parents understand the decisions surrounding exams in 2021, it can be found here.

This week, one of my highlights has been seeing the amount of students that have started to reach 100 positive points! This is an amazing achievement and I have been delighted to start to sign certificates. Bronze certificates for all students that reach 100 points should be landing on door steps next week. Well done to, James Nicol 8H, Katy Pattinson 8F, Ben Gregory 7D, Farhan Khan 8F, Holly Jones 7E, Abigail Knowles 8F, Julia Czyczel 8H, Kyle Williams 7E, Abi-Gayle Plumton 9H, Katie Lydiard 8E, Tyler Tan 9H, Rose Church 7F, JJ Smith 7H, Thomas Fearon 8H, Theo Perry 8H, Olivia Pethers 9H, Lucas Hessey Knocks 8G, Charles Harris 7G, Lilly Matthews 8H, Leela Pang 8H, Grace Scotney 8E, Emily Townley 8H, Kerrie Barton 8G, Lilly-May Bayford 8H, Christina Clark 8H, Charlotte Watts 7H, Alfie Green 8G, Hala Hamdia 9D, Tom Notay 8G, Stacey Green 7I, Shay Pinnell 10G, Erin Disney 10E and Reece Beale 7D. Well done all of you!!

Next week, we will be tweaking our lunchtime system slightly and closing the grass field area. With the wet weather it is currently becoming very muddy. Students will however still be expected to spend their social time in their year based inside and outside zones areas. We will be letting them know the details on Monday.

As always, I hope you are all able to have a relaxing weekend,

Paul Skipp

Headteacher

If you are collecting or dropping off a student, please note that you must do so outside the school gates, unless you are using Wingfield gate to enter the sports hall car park. Please do not drive through Gloucester gate at any time of day.

Year 7 Reward Points: Bronze Certificate

Congratulations to the following who have reached Bronze level with 100+ reward points:

Ben G

Holly J

Kyle W

Rose C

JJ S

Charlotte W

Charles H

Stacey G

Keep up the fabulous work!

Mrs Addison, Miss Wood & Ms Stewart

Ding Dong Merrily on High.....!

Over the last weeks, many John of Gaunt students and teachers have been bringing in small gifts to be included in the Christmas Shoebox appeal. Thanks to your generosity, 25 gift boxes will be leaving Wiltshire at the end of this week, bound for families in extreme need in several countries in Eastern Europe.

Many thanks to all teachers, pupils and parents who have supported this very worthwhile cause and sending all our families our best wishes for the weeks ahead.

Mrs Addecott and Miss Wood

It was so lovely to see many fantastic lessons going on today. There were some great discussions going on in English lessons, lots of practical work going on in Science, GEM lessons in humanities and some really high-level challenge in all lessons.

One particular lesson which really made me smile was the drama lesson with Miss Regan - I walked in as she was walking around the classroom as a witch, much to the student's amusement! The photo shows the students then acting this out!

We hope Year 11 enjoyed the 'Sixth Form Virtual Information Evening' this week. For those who were unable to attend, all subject information is available online along with a video link to the Sixth Form Virtual Tour.

Students will receive their initiation to apply via email next week. If there are any questions, please contact the Sixth Form Team on sixthform @jogschool.org

Student Leadership Council

You may already know that the school runs a very effective student leadership council. They regularly meet together in their year groups as well as meeting with staff and other representatives. Each term some members of the student leadership team will also join our Governing Body meetings in order to share students opinions.

This term, in the Year 11 student council meeting they shared that some of the Free School Meal (FSM) students were getting hungry because of the longer day that now includes P6. Last night the Senior Leadership Team agreed to add an extra £1 per day to every Year 11 FSM allowance. This will enable FSM in Year 11 to purchase a hot break time snack, or extra food at lunch time. This is almost a £4,000 investment but it goes to show, student leadership councils really do work!

Supporting careers education, information, advice and guidance at JoG

This week is National Pathology Week!

Did you know that if you've ever had a blood test, tissue biopsy or cervical screening, a pathologist or clinical scientist will have been involved in your care? Pathology is the study of disease and if you're interested in medicine or biology, this could be a career for you!

To find out more about what pathologists and clinical scientists ‘do’ and discover some exciting facts about the work that goes on in hospitals to diagnose and treat disease then then the following FREE events could be for you:

MULTIPLE DATES

Meet the pathologists - virtual careers talks for 13 - 18-year olds

by The Royal College of Pathologist – click on the link to book your place.

Continuing a Health careers theme……

Brighton & Sussex Medical School

This course provides a 'virtual' work experience for those looking to apply to medical school. You will be introduced to the NHS before exploring the roles and skill sets of six different medical specialists. Along the way, you will also consider some of the challenges and wider issues doctors face.

https://bsmsoutreach.thinkific.com/courses/VWE

Royal College of General Practitioners

Observe GP is an alternative to work experience for aspiring medics aged 16 and over, who are living in the UK. It is a free interactive video platform providing insights into the role of a GP and the wider primary care team.

https://www.rcgp.org.uk/training-exams/discover-general-practice/observe-gp.aspx

For any questions about any of the above please contact the school careers adviser Ms. A Lynch.

Jekyll and Hyde workshops

Y10 students at JOG began working on an exciting project this week. The school has been approached to participate in a programme with Box Clever theatre company. Actors and directors from the company will be working with our students to adapt the English set text - Jekyll and Hyde - into a production for schools. Our students will be working as writers, directors and advisers with the theatre company, before they put together their touring production for schools next year. This week, the students met the actors and director for the first time and have been set some homework to write a couple of excerpts before they return in a fortnight's time. Well done to the students involved who demonstrated maturity and engagement with their roles.

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