10th January 2017
Welcome back to our new term and warmest wishes to every member of our Simon Balle Community for 2017. At the start of this term, we have two new teachers joining us who are both very experienced and will contribute much to Simon Balle. Mrs. Davies is now on maternity leave and we are most fortunate to have Dr. Nick Dennis joining us to teach history and politics. Nick is well known in history teaching circles. An experienced teacher and school leader, he has written books, articles, led debates and is an ardent blogger. Some families may know Roger Harding. He, for many years, was the Deputy Head at Enfield Grammar and now retired, however he will teach A level Economics at Simon Balle. I am confident that we will benefit greatly from Roger’s experience. We will shortly be advertising a number of teaching posts. You will have read about the recruitment crisis particularly problematic in this part of the UK. Last year the majority of staff whom we appointed knew our school; cold adverts seldom work. Some were trainees, others had friends who worked here, all were local and some even came here as students themselves. We advertise in “Teach in Herts” an online site (www.teachinherts.com) as well as using our own website. Posts will include: teacher of RE (maternity), Assistant Headteacher, primary teacher. There may be more! So do get in touch please.
Dates this term Thursday 12 January Y13 mocks start Monday 16 January Spanish trip parents information meeting Tuesday 17 January Acoustic guitars recital Thursday 19 January Year 11 Parent consultation evening Wednesday 25 January Poetry evening Thursday 26 January Y12 information evening Monday 6 February Drugs Education workshop for parents Tuesday 7 February Year 9 Options evening Battlefields trip parents information evening Strings recital Wednesday 8 February Drums recital Monday 13 to Friday 17 February- half term Tuesday 21 February Iceland trip parents information evening Sports tour parents information evening Thursday 23 February First Battlefield trip leaves th
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Wednesday 1st March Year 13 Parents consultation Thursday 2nd March Second Battlefield trip leaves Friday 3rd March Big Band Evening Saturday 11th March An evening of singing & strings – All Saints Church Tuesday 14th March Year 12 Parents consultation Wednesday 15th March Larch centre parents evening Rock gig – Corn Exchange th Thursday 16 March Larch centre parents evening Saturday 11th March An evening of singing & strings – All Saints Church Tuesday 14th March Year 12 Parents consultation Wednesday 15th March Larch centre parents evening Rock gig – Corn Exchange Thursday 16th March Larch centre parents evening Thursday 23rd March Brass recital Friday 24th March Non uniform day – Red Nose Monday 27th March Stevenson’s uniform sale 3pm to 5.30pm Monday 30th & 31st March School Play Easter Holidays- Monday 3rd to Wednesday 19th April (18th April is an INSET day; school closed for students)
Rib House article December 2016 In the lead up to the Christmas season, there are a lot of things to be celebrating, especially in Rib House where our achievements thus far are certainly something to be proud of. Over the last term, the Larch Centre has been working particularly hard. A total of 35 house points have been awarded to Rib House for fantastic work by the Reception and Year 1 students. Well done to those students and all other students working hard in the primary school. In fact, it seems that the eagerness of the Larch Centre students to excel has spread throughout the rest of Rib House. In a combined effort from Reception all the way through to Year 13, we are now the overall leader in what appears to be a very close and very competitive race to the top of the house points table. A special congratulations to both William Muncer and Lauren Whitelegg-Spavin for being this week’s highest house point earning duo! The fact that we are at the top of the table means that we have many achievements in a variety of subject areas. Just recently, Lilly Tooley won the haiku competition (which was set up by the English department) in the Year 7 category. Here it is: Your life is lonely, You’re alone, but that’s alright You’re amazing. In the past few weeks Year 7 has also had some major sporting successes. The girls’ netball team was able to ‘net’ a win against John Warner with a score of 15-7 and the boys’ football team secured a landslide victory of 15-0 against Sele. Seems like 15 is a popular number! We were also a runner up in the recent House Plays competition with our brilliant adaption of Cinderella. The judges described it as “a great ensemble piece of theatre” with “strong and striking performances”. Well done to Year 12 students Emma Butcher and Izzy Sutton for directing it and everyone involved. Finally, we round this fantastic term off with an interview from our hardworking star student in Year 13, Joanna Wood. Interviewer: Hi Joanna, tell us a little bit about yourself. What subjects do you take? Joanna: Geography, Biology and Sports Studies. I: What are your interests? J: I like to play tennis outside of school and am a member of the Watton at Stone tennis club. I: What is your favourite subject? J: My favourite subject is Sports Studies because I like that it is varied as I have the chance to learn about all different topics, ranging from sports psychology to historical studies. I: What do you do to help the community? J: I volunteer in the primary school, helping in Year 1 classes and also volunteer by coaching at the tennis club. I work as a waitress and enjoy it. Rib House Captains
Dear Parents/Carers Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the start of the New Year. Attendance is our main focus this year. There are some exceptional medical circumstances, however, we aim to ensure that every student attends school regularly. Our Academy attendance target of 97% is the minimum we expect from our students. It is only by attending every day and joining in with school life that a student can make the progress they are capable of and enjoy the time they spend as a member of the Simon Balle community. Please support us in ensuring your child attends at every opportunity by making medical and dental appointments etc. outside school hours or during holiday periods. If it is necessary for an appointment to be made during term time, please make every effort for the appointment to be made at the end of the day so the least amount of education is missed. For further information, please see the Attendance Policy. The Headteacher and Governors expect that family holidays will be taken during the holiday periods and will not authorise absence due to family holidays during term time, in line with County policy. It is interesting to note that there are 175 non school days a year for holidays, cultural experiences and family time. If your child is reluctant to attend school for any reason or you have any concerns regarding his/her attendance please contact your child’s Form Tutor, Head of Year or Ms Moss (Wellbeing & Attendance Coordinator) immediately so that we can implement a plan of action to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. Simon Balle will always work with parents to find ways to improve individual student attendance. We are happy to support students and families with any issues relating to attendance and/or punctuality. Last term the number of lates recorded were higher than average. Please ensure your child is on school premises by 8:30 ready to learn for 8:40. Ms D Moss
Below is a chart showing the correlation between attendance and achievement.
Anti Bullying Framework No Boundaries –No Tolerance I am writing to remind parents and carers in respect of our No Boundaries, No Tolerance to bullying strategy that is linked to our Anti Bullying Framework. This has rapidly become a concern about the use of technology and how it can have an instrumental part in both a negative and positive way on our childrens' lives. Our No Boundaries approach focuses on Cyber Bullying and the wider community. The No Tolerance aspect also provides an overall approach to behaviour that has a detrimental impact on the physical and emotional wellbeing of our students. The five stage framework is an opportunity for us to have a structure that provides clear parameters for us all to work towards, with a view to ensuring that inappropriate behaviour is addressed through a wide range of strategies. Our recent survey carried out by Ditch the Label provided some really positive feedback and we have used this information to further shape our strategy, in support of the Simon Balle community. During 2017 I will seek to appoint Anti Bullying Ambassadors who will have key responsibilities across the school community. I will also be delivering a number of parents information evenings, focusing on a range of subjects that I am sure will support our families, while navigating their way through difficulties. I am keen to raise awareness and ensure that our community is informed and proactive in respect of safeguarding the wellbeing of all. I will continue to update you through the school newsletter on events and strategies throughout the year. Leon Brown Director of Care and Wellbeing
EXAMINATION INVIGILATORS REQUIRED Summer 2017 We are looking to appoint people with an educational background or an interest in education, to act as examination invigilators joining our experienced team. The initial requirement is for the summer exam period (15th May until the end of June 2017). Applications are welcome from people with experience, but training will be provided. Working hours will be variable depending on examination requirements, but will normally be between 8.00am and 4.30pm. Duties will include the preparation of rooms prior to the start of exams, distribution and collection of scripts and the supervision of candidates. An enhanced DBS check will be required. Please contact J Creasey Simon Balle School, Mangrove Road, Hertford, Herts SG13 8BJ. Tel: 01992 410400 Fax: 01992 410401 email recruitment@simonballe.herts.sch.uk for further details and an application form. Only applications on the school application form will be accepted Closing date : 27th January (noon) Interviews : TBA Simon Balle is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of students and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We are also committed to the equality of opportunity for all. Applicants for this post must be willing to undergo child protection screening, including reference checks with previous employers and the Criminal Records Bureau
eSafety newsletter Parent edition
Spring 2017
Cyberbullying
Ensuring your children understand the seriousness of cyberbullying is an essential part of modern parenting. There have been several recent reports of how this type of offence is increasing hugely (source: Childline). Information on cyberbullying can be found in many places but the NSPCC has some good statistics here: http://bit.ly/NSPCCCB . If you need confirmation that this is indeed a serious offence, you need not look far: http://bit.ly/JB1407
Snapchat
As if we didn’t need another reason to tell our children that they can’t have Snapchat yet (it’s a 13-plus app), they decide to launch affordable camera glasses for potentially very sneaky recordings. It is one thing to put people on the internet with their permission but altogether another to capture them without their knowledge and to upload without consent: http://bit.ly/SnapSun
Bullying over social media is one of the most common problems, although sometimes the bullying can be from within a group on Whatsapp or similar; it isn’t always completely public. Often the bullying can be 1:1 in the form of direct messaging too. One good resource can be found in the following link, a video created by Childline. Amy Louise’s Story is an example of bullying over Facebook. For children attending primary school however, this should not be a problem if pupils are adhering to the age restrictions for these apps and services: http://bit.ly/CLFBk
Whatsapp Historically, users of Whatsapp needed to be at least 16 years of age. Recently however, this age restriction has been lowered to 13 in line with the majority of similar digital communication tools. Despite this, parents should always be cautious when allowing their children to have unrestricted communication with others people - users can withhold or lie about their true identity. The extra three years of maturity which the old policy offered to its users (those who stuck to the rules at least) meant that grooming might have previously been identified by users more easily. Despite this, research suggested that even when Whatsapp had a 13 minimum age, 50% of its users were 12 or under. www.whatsapp.com/legal Another aspect of this app worth considering is the soon‑to‑be available video chat option. http://bit.ly/WA1id This puts this app in line with the likes of Skype and Facetime, albeit safer than Oovoo – which adds multiple user video conferencing and brings with that further risks of friends accepting strangers into group conversations.
Watch out for Omegle & Chat Roulette
These ‘video chat with strangers’ services are dangers for the obvious reason that you won’t know who your children are talking to or seeing and vice versa. Information can be shared with complete strangers using these services and in many cases what would be seen or discussed will be inappropriate or in certain cases, illegal. There are, of course other non-video based apps to avoid such as Whisper, where users are encouraged to tell secrets to complete strangers who can then get them to release further personal information. Ok I’m worried, what can I do? As always, talk to your children. Tell them you won’t take their devices away from
them as a punishment for letting you know that they feel worried, frightened or scared about something they have seen or read online, or about what someone might be asking them to do. It might be hard not to take things away from them, you might feel like you are protecting them, but remember that children will learn from the experience and next time might think ‘I can’t tell Mum or Dad because they will take it off me again’. Tell them well done, reward them for telling you, fix the problem, then return the device to them as soon as possible. Crucially, tell them this is what will happen now, before they are in trouble.
Musical.ly This is an app which is gaining in popularity within primary schools at a very fast rate indeed. Users can sing along to famous music artists, have friends, be followed and leave comments. Not so different from the majority of social media apps then? Consequently, whilst it can be fun, parents should be cautious and apply the same logic to this as with any other opportunity for their children to contact or be contacted by strangers. The 12+ on the appstore suggests that parental support is necessary yet Google Play does not have a minimum age restriction at this time – often the platforms do not agree with one another regarding age restrictions. On this basis, a self‑imposed 13+ rule with many unclassified apps would be a reasonable child protection measure.
Useful websites
“I want to make it less likely that my children will get into trouble at home when online”
“I don’t want people to see that when they search on the internet”
Find out how to make internet access safer at home on the Internet Matters website: http://bit.ly/ParentCont
Find out how to ask Google to remove information from their search results here http://bit.ly/RemInfo
“I have found a website that holds illegal content. How do I report it?”
Report illegal website content here: https://www.iwf.org.uk
For further eSafety advice visit: http://bit.ly/eSafetyAdviceforParents