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Telephone: 01304 201151 Absence Line: 01304 200155 Fax: 01304 200152 Email: admin@astor.dfamat.com
the
LINK July 2013
Dear Parents/Guardians
I must advise you that recent Government Legislation has been introduced and as from September 2013, schools in England cannot authorise holidays during term time. The last term of the academic year is very exciting and I am looking forward to the AS Art Exhibition, on the evening of Monday 15 July, to celebrate our talented Year 12 students. The Activity Week is a fantastic addition to our curriculum and I really do hope all the students will enjoy this new and exciting programme. I must say a big a thank you to the 90 students, Mrs Chamberlain, Miss Cloke and Miss Gerrard for performing and organising our fantastic Dance show ‘A Night At The Movies’. The theatre was packed every night and I know that many of you enjoyed watching our talented students perform. The Dover Federation for the Arts continue to organise the National Students’ Arts Exhibition with the Royal Society of British Artists at the Mall Galleries in London. Congratulations must go to the 5 students who had 6 pieces of work selected: Peter Knight, Yr 13; Kerry Jane Barter, Yr 13; Clara Haurie – 2 pieces of work, Laura Scalzo and Chanelle King. A reminder that students will be in Year groups with the following Directors of Year, Deputies and Pastoral Managers next academic year: Year 7 Director of Year - Mr Moore, Deputy - Mr Silk with Mr Sadler as Pastoral Manager Year 8 Director of Year - Mr Clue, Deputy - Mrs Chapman and Mrs Castle as Pastoral Manager Year 9 Director of Year - Mr Jones, Deputy - Miss Cloke and Miss Biddle as Pastoral Manager Year 10 Director of Year - Mr Harrison, Deputy - Mr Lea and Mr Wright as Pastoral Manager Year 11 Director of Year - Mr Gibson, Deputy - Mr Davies and Mr Esdale as Pastoral Manager 6th Form Director - Mrs Walton with Deputies Mrs Jones and Mrs Butterfield. I would like to remind you and thank you in advance for ensuring that students return without extreme haircuts or unacceptable piercings and that full uniform is purchased and ready to be worn correctly at the start of next term: plain black shoes; white shirt with top button done up; college tie and black trousers or skirt. Uniform can be purchased from Brigade via our website or Channel uniforms and further information is available inside this publication. The College will be open to collect exam results for the 6th Form on Thursday 15 August from 10:00-12:00 and for Year 11 on Thursday 22 August from 10:00-12:00. Staff will be available to support you with applications for our 6th Form or Higher education on those days. I hope you all have a lovely summer holiday and students return to Astor on Thursday 5 September. Very best wishes, Yours sincerely
E Pallant Principal
THE COMMENIUS PROJECT In April 2013, the Comenius Project, “Learning European History through Staging National Historical Events,” ventured on its third and final trip this academic school year to Vienna do Castillo, Portugal. Four travel weary students and two teachers arrived late Sunday ready and geared up for a great week. The hot Portuguese sun shone down on the Astor group as they teamed up with students from around Europe to learn about local culture and lifestyles. Together with the students and staff from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy, Portugal and Spain, students ventured into ‘Old Town,’ visited a hospital museum on a boat and even followed in the footsteps of local fishing wives by hand sewing designs onto aprons. The pinnacle of the week was when more than fifty students and staff marched through the streets of the city re-enacting the Celtics journey to the hill top. Astor students created a short performance based on the Czech national historical figure Leos Janacek, a famous Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. “I was a bit nervous about having to perform in front of a group of people that I hardly knew, but we had a laugh and I learned a bit about different historical people from around Europe.” The Portugal meeting was a great culmination to the school year and we can’t wait to continue the project in October when we travel to Spain.
On the lookout for turtles at Turtle Beach
Congratulations to those Year 9 ladies who took part in the Race for Life back in June. If you are interested in becoming a part of The Astor Angels please see Miss Sinclair for more information on next years Race for Life. We raised approximately
ÂŁ300.
PRIVACY NOTICE at:
Astor College
Privacy Notice - Data Protection Act 1998 We, Astor College, are a data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act. We collect information from you and may receive information about you from your previous school and the Learning Records Service. We hold this personal data and use it to: * * * *
Support your teaching and learning; Monitor and report on your progress; Provide appropriate pastoral care, and Assess how well your setting is doing.
This information includes your contact details, national curriculum assessment results, attendance information and personal characteristics such as your ethnic group, any special educational needs and relevant medical information. If you are enrolling for post 14 qualifications we will be provided with your unique learner number by the Learning Records Service and may also obtain from them details of any learning or qualifications you have undertaken. We will not give information about you to anyone outside the school without your consent unless the law and our rules allow us to. We are required by law to pass some information about you to the Local Authority and the Department for Education (DfE). If you want to see a copy of the information about you that we hold and/or share, please contact Mr E Pallant, Principal. If you require more information about how the Local Authority (LA) and/or DfE store and use your information, then please go to the following websites: http://www.kent.gov.uk/your_council/contact_us/access_to_information/data_protection.aspx http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/datatdatam/b00212337/datause If you are unable to access these websites we can send you a copy of this information. Please contact the LA or DfE as follows: Information Resilience & Transparency Team Kent County Council Sessions House County Road Maidstone ME14 1XQ
Public Communications Unit Department for Education Sanctuary Buildings Great Smith Street London SW1P 3BT Telephone: 0370 000 2288 Website: www.education.gov.uk
Email: dataprotection@kent.gov.uk
email:http://www.education.gov.uk/help/contactus
Connexions Services – once you are aged 13 or over we are required to pass on certain information to the Connexions Services. Connexions is the government's support service for all young people aged 13 to 19 in England. We must provide both your and your parents names and address, and any further information relevant to the Connexions services' role. However, you (if you are over 16) or your parents can ask that no information beyond name and address be passed to Connexions. Please inform your Director of Year if you wish to opt-out of this arrangement. For more information about Connexions please go to the LA website shown above.
Combined Cadet Force Duke of Edinburgh Award On 22 June, a number of CCF Cadets went on an orienteering day. For a number of students this was a practice run towards their Duke of Edinburgh Award which they will be working on from September. We started the day at a point in Hougham and it was down to the cadets to lead us safely to our destination point using bearing points on their compass. The cadets showed good team spirit and worked in pairs on different legs of our journey, stopping for lunch and a spot of tent erection practice. Although a very damp day, a good time was had by all and we are looking forward to our next practice day during the summer holiday.
END OF TERM SOCIAL EVENT On Tuesday 9 July, members of the Astor College Combined Cadet Force (CCF) enjoyed a social event at the Ski Centre in Folkestone. Each cadet received nearly two hours of ski instruction followed by half an hour of tobogganing and a fantastic, albeit tiring time, was had by all!
Congratulations to the Astor College Combined Cadet Force for raising an outstanding sum of ÂŁ826.01 by bag packing in Morrisons. The amount raised was presented to the Air Ambulance Service. This was an amazing achievement. Thank you to all those who took part.
JOIN ASTOR’S CCF If you are interested in joining the Combined Cadet Force when we start back at College in September, please see Anton in the Unit or Vicki in the Media Resource Office and pick up a joining pack. We are looking forward to a year of summer and adventure camps (some overnight!), orientation (map reading) skills and many more exciting trips. Being a cadet teaches discipline and a variety of social skills vital to life outside of school. We are also able to offer the Duke of Edinburgh Award to those students who feel they are ready to increase their education that bit further. If you are interested in the Duke of Edinburgh Award, please see Mr Goko in the Mathematics Department for more information.
FANTASY FOOTBALL It’s been an exciting year in the Astor fantasy football tournament. Well done to everybody that took part, after a colossal struggle Mr Gerry took first place from Mr Davies on the last day of the season with a 1 point lead!
There will be another chance to take part in the new season starting this August. Participation is free and all Astor students and staff will be able to join the Astor league. Simply register and create a team through the ‘Barclays Premier League’ website. The code that is required to join the Astor league will be posted on the Astor website nearer the start of the season when it is released. Good luck in advance.
Andy Gerry Vice Principal
New Government School Attendance Legislation New Government Legislation for school attendance begins on 1 September 2013. Good attendance continues to be important to us. All research shows that students with good attendance (above 95%) make the most progress at school. Schools cannot authorise term time holidays. Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence for holidays during term time. Unauthorised absence is likely to result in a penalty notice (fine) being issued. Parents must, from 1 September 2013, pay £60 within 21 days or £120 within 28 days. Thank you for your continued support. If you have any concerns regarding your child’s attendance please do not hesitate to make contact with Mrs Jarvis, Director of Parent and Student Support on the attendance line number of 01304 200155.
European Bike Trial Championships Ex Astor Student, James Sheridan, competed in the European Bike Trial Championships over the weekend of July 13/14. James, now 24, competed against riders from all over Europe and achieved a fantastic second place. James trains extensively for his events and has promised that he will come back to Astor to show us some of his skills in the future. Mr.Mowat
Channel Uniforms Ltd Shop 1 Radnor Chambers Cheriton Place Folkestone Kent CT20 2BB 01303 487075 - 01303 847185 Your Local School uniform shop: channeluniforms@live.co.uk www.channeluniforms.co.uk
For all your uniform requirements: We also stock Rainbow, Brownie and Guide uniforms, Beaver, Cub and Scout uniforms. Opening hours Monday – Closed, Tuesday – Friday 9.30 – 5.00pm, Saturday 10.00 – 4.00pm