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At the time of writing, I have been acting Head of Fawcett college for just over a week. I have found everyone - staff, parents, carers and students alike - to be friendly and welcoming (indeed, it is lovely to see so many students wish me ‘Good morning’ when I am supporting on the Fawcett corridor), and I have really enjoyed being able to spend more time than would otherwise be the case with those KS4 students that I taught in our inaugural year.
It is pleasing also to note that Fawcett currently has the highest attendance in the academy, as well as the highest number of conduct points (that is: merits minus demerits), with a huge score (again, at the time of writing) of 1475. Particular congratulations in this regard should go to Ms Young’s tutor group (7A [to read more about the exploits of this particular tutor group, please see Mia's account of her first term at LAB below]) who, with an attendance of 98.1%, have the highest of any tutor group across LAB, and the second highest number of conduct points (with 496!).
A huge well done to the Fawcett college team for their efforts in this regard.
Please know that in the next module, there will be a focus during tutor time on uniform and equipment. I thought it might be useful, therefore, to take this opportunity to remind parents and carers about our expectations relating to uniform and equipment prior to the Christmas break.
As per the guidance available on our website, students are expected to wear the following:
Our navy blue blazer with academy crest;
Steel grey classic trouser or pleated skirt;
White button up shirt;
Leigh Academy Blackheath college or founders tie;
Plain navy or grey socks;
Black leather shoes with plain laces (coloured laces are not permitted);
Please also note that students can wear studded earrings, but the following is not permitted: excessive jewelry, brightly coloured hair, nail varnish, nail extensions, false eyelashes and thick make-up.
With regards to equipment, students are expected to have the following with them each day:
Pencil Case;
A fully charged Chromebook;
Writing pens (several with blue and black ink);
1 green and 1 red pen (biro or writing pen);
Several pencils (HB and 2B);
Eraser and sharpener;
30cm ruler;
An adhesive glue stick;
A pack of multi-coloured highlighters;
Scientific calculator;
A physical reading book (our library is full of many wonderful books!);
A water bottle
We do issue sanctions if students are not fully equipped, not only so as to avoid teachers having to provide equipment at the beginning of every lesson, but also because we believe strongly that students should learn to value their possessions and develop the organisational habits necessary for success in later life. Similarly, if students are not in the correct uniform, we issue sanctions as we believe that our young people should develop habits of dressing smartly when it is appropriate to do so. This also shows respect for our school community.
The beginning of each calendar year is an opportunity to once again embed our high expectations in order that students can learn in a calm and efficient environment, and thus flourish academically. We intend to take full advantage of this and appreciate your support in this regard.
In the meantime, I wish you and your family a merry Christmas and a Happy New year.
Thank you, again, for making me feel so welcome in this new role.
Sincerely,
Mr. D Morrison
My First Term at LAB: an account by Mia, 7A
Hi everyone, I am Mia from 7A and I am in Fawcett college. I am quite new to this school but I already love it so much! I was going to tell you about my favourite subject, but the thing is, it is too hard to choose. All of the classes and teachers are so nice. One of the things I found most interesting during this first term was Science. The classrooms, teachers and the content that we are learning are just so interesting. I also love PE and drama. Currently, in PE we are learning about the rules of badminton. I was not very good at first, but with all of the teachers' support and encouragement, I have progressed significantly. In Drama, we are currently learning about voiceovers and for our end of module assessment, we are doing a voiceover to the trailer of Toy Story 4! If you are doing particularly well in a certain subject, the teachers may award you with an ambassador badge. I have a language badge that I earned during French class, for example.
The clubs at this school are wide-ranging and fun to attend. I already go to 3 clubs each week: musical theater, drama and sports club. I love going to sports club because lots of teachers (and not just PE teachers) participate in the games! On one occasion, my maths teacher was playing basketball and my science teacher was playing football!
At lunch, all of the dinner ladies are kind and the food is delicious! There is a brilliant library full of amazing books that you can read too! If you read lots and complete many Accelerated Reader quizzes, you get merits and even prizes!
In conclusion, I love everything about this school and I am so grateful that I am here.
Merry xmas!
An Update on our Student Government run by Lexi
I am Lexie, the current secretary for the Student Government.
Leadership plays a key part in the running of our Student Government. We represent our classes and must communicate ideas efficiently and responsibly.
The Government holds monthly meetings and discusses the ideas and logistics that have arisen.
The chair (Kenny) runs the meetings with help from a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), formerly Ms Nuttall and now Ms Philips. Kenny holds other members of the Government accountable, and supports them in their duties when needed. Kenny also updates the Government on progress or barriers since last lesson.
The secretary (myself) creates an agenda and keeps notes for each meeting. I then upload these to our Google Classroom to keep track of our progress. I share any requests for purchases with a member of the SLT and monitor the Google Classroom. I make sure that the notes are clear, concise, and legible.
The treasurer's (Emmanuel) role is to coordinate the Student Government budget, discuss any requests for purchases, to work with Ms Ejoh (our LAB Finance Officer), and prepare an annual financial report.
These 3 jobs are key to the Student Government. They make sure that everything is running smoothly and that everyone understands the ongoing tasks.
To get my role as Secretary, I wrote a statement explaining why I was the best candidate for the role. The Senior Leadership Team then discussed all the candidates and chose who they thought was most suitable for the role.
Two weeks later, it was announced that I had gotten the job!
I am really enjoying the responsibility thus far!
A Student Government representative from Fawcett College
Hello!
My name is Leon and I am a Student Representative of Fawcett, currently in Year 9. As a Student Representative, I was elected by my form to become part of the school’s government. I know Lexi has told you all about how the Student Government runs as secretary, but I wanted to discuss some of the work we have done already.
Being part of the student government allows me to present to my form group and take in their opinions to make LAB better, how we contribute to it and how to make an impact outside of LAB. When I was elected, we went to our first meeting to discuss Christmas charities and to promote new clubs in tutor time and around the school.
We chose Cancer Research as a college and have organised a ‘Guess the number of sweets in the jar’ to take place before Christmas, and a sports event to run at the end of Module 3.
As well as this, representatives have the important role of acting as LAB ambassadors around the school, by giving tours, for example, or meeting with visitors outside of the school, like when we met with a councillor from the local borough. He was willing to share his experiences in the world of work. It is a really exciting and amazing opportunity to have!
I look forward to continue to build on the early successes of the government to make both Fawcett and LAB an even better place to go to school!
Leon, 9A
Starting my GCSEs
Moving to Year 10 took some getting used to; we had new teachers, fewer subjects and more homework (of course!). It also meant that we had to work harder, because the work itself was also harder. Our GCSEs exams would take place in a little under two years, and during this time, there is a large amount of content to cover. A challenge that I welcome...
The actual choosing of subjects for GCSEs happened in Year 9. We were given assemblies, tutor time and a really detailed options booklet (on its own dedicated site) to help us make our choice.
My chosen GCSEs were Separate Sciences (Biology, Chemistry and Physics), Geography & Computer Science and I also study Mathematics, English Language & Literature and Spanish.
In my opinion, the subjects are really interesting and you can tell the teachers are there to support us. For me, studying fewer subjects makes school less stressful as I focus on less things.
To make things easier, we also have resources such as Kerboodle, to access content covered in our subjects for revision, as well as GCSE Pod, which is full of videos and quizzes and questions. Our teachers can always give us more support if needed and many of us often find them outside of lesson time to chat through things. I look forward to what the rest of KS4 holds and am hopeful that we all do well in our exams.
Tom, 10D
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