Whole School Events

There has been plenty going on this half term. During November, we had our Bookbuzz event: this is an exciting collaboration with the Literacy and Library teams to provide every student in Year 7 with a reading book of their choice. Students watched a selection of authors pitch their books and then selected one book out of a list of 12. It has been a pleasure to watch our students enjoy their selections. Students have had the opportunity to read these books in some of their English lessons and, of course, at home. We hope the students have enjoyed discovering a new author or genre as they continue their reading for pleasure journey.

 

Year 7 also had a day off timetable for an Oracy workshop, run by the English Department. The brief was to come up with and pitch an idea for a new game in the format of Dragons’ Den. This was a fantastic day and I know how hard it was to choose a winning team!

 

 

 

 

Lastly on the theme of Literacy, we have had our Literacy Advent Calendar winners. For the last three weeks of term, have been celebrating students who have achieved the most Rewards for Developing Literacy across November, with the winners able to select a book as a prize. Congratulations!

 

This half term has also seen the College Fortnight with the second round of College Assemblies helping to make Year 7 feel even more established in their College families. It also saw the inaugural College Attendance Challenge, where we challenged each student to make their attendance count and achieve 100% during the week of 25 November. We are really proud of our students’ attendance which is well above the national average. On this first occasion, Binswood were victorious. Congratulations to them and to all students working to improve and maintain their attendance in school.

On Monday 11 November, our NLS community gathered for our annual Remembrance Service in the courtyard.

We took the chance to mark Anti-Bullying Week by celebrating students’ individuality through our Odd Socks Day. It was brilliant to see how many year 7s took part in this really important event which followed tutor time sessions during the week when students discussed what respect means and students were reminded who they can speak to at school if they have any concerns.

In the last weeks of term, we have been working on our Christmas Community Initiatives. The festive season has given us the opportunity to take part in Christmas Jumper Day for Save the Children and organise a Christmas Hamper Appeal in tutor groups to assist those in need within our local community. These initiatives have provided a wonderful opportunity for our students to give back, show kindness, and embody the spirit of the season. Thank you for your support in helping us make a positive impact!

   

  

Tutor Curriculum

During Tutor Time, students have been looking at plenty of skills for the future. This has included sessions on careers, finance, an International Schools project as well as working on their digital literacy.  This has been a great opportunity for year 7 to really think about their futures and the steps that they want to take to become the people they want to be. This theme has been running through our assemblies too.

Information regarding the Tutor Curriculum, along with the Tutor Time Learning Journey can be found on our website via the following link Tutor Time Curriculum

Rewards and Celebration

Reward points remain a key part of students’ school experience and are given for positive learning behaviours and contributions to school life. Each week we celebrate the achievements of the year group as a whole as well as those who have been really pushing themselves to earn more reward points. It has been wonderful to see the routines in place in tutor groups to help students to celebrate their achievements, and they really do care a great deal about their points! Huge congratulations to all the students, they should all feel so proud of themselves.
Well done also to those 30 students who were invited to attend our Winter Rewards Event, which was a lovely popcorn and movie afternoon. There are termly rewards events and so there will be a fresh opportunity during the Spring Term for those who just missed out.

Below are the highest rewards earners this half term from each College. What an achievement!

The top 10 students who have achieved the most reward points

Outstanding Contribution to Tutor Group

Calendar

We are looking forward to meeting you all again for the Year 7  Subject Evening on 27 January 2025. This is a super opportunity to get feedback in person from staff about how your child is getting on in school. I will see you all then.

 

I wish all of your families a wonderful Christmas Break and I am looking forward to welcoming all of the Year 7 students into the Spring Term at North Leamington School.

Joe Piper
Year 7 Lead