Principal's update 20 October 2023
Published on 23/10/23
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Dear Parents and Carers
Thank you to parents and carers of Y7 students who came along to our Information Evening on Monday. It was lovely to see so many of you in school and we hope you found the evening useful.
On Thursday 26 October we are holding a 3G Pitch Football Fundraising Day to try to raise as much money as possible for our 3G pitch bid - the more money we raise the more matched funding we get! Your support is very much appreciated. We will be running a football challenge for the whole school throughout the day - Dribble, Pass, Score! Can we score 1000+ goals in one day? Every class will get the opportunity to try to reach this target throughout the day. We would love you to sponsor us to achieve this target! The day will also be a non-uniform day - students and staff are invited to wear football themed clothes for a minimum suggested donation of £1. Any support would really help our community to raise money for this much needed facility.
A reminder that students finish for half term on Thursday 26 October. Friday 27 October is an INSET day. All students will return to school on Monday 6 November.
What’s going on in school:
- Our Maths Department have launched a Sparx Maths Homework raffle for students in KS3. Every half term, students who have completed their Sparx maths homework on time and have achieved 100% success on their questions will be entered into a raffle to win a gift voucher, with a winner being picked from each year group.
- Following on from their recent fieldwork trip to Castleton, students in Y7 have been making the most of the data they collected. Students collected information on traffic, building use, and the quality of pavements in Castleton to evaluate if: Tourism is good or bad for Castleton? Students have been evaluating their data through different types of graphs, evaluating their fieldwork methods, and analysing their data. They have been making great starts on their evaluation write ups in lessons - all very good and important skills for GCSE Geography!
- Y7 students were asked to make monsters for their French homework, with some fantastic work being produced! Students will give a spoken presentation in French about their monster, talking about their name, age personality and appearance.
- It was Year 7’s turn to take part in the Interhouse sports competition this week, with Winhill winning the football and Kinder winning netball.
- Our Sports Leaders did another excellent job supporting our Primary Cross Country Event on Wednesday this week.
- KS4 and Y7 played football at home against St Thomas More on Tuesday. Both teams played well against equal sided opponents. KS4 just missed out on winning their game with a final score of 2-1 to STM. However, Y7 showed good strength of character and managed to win their game 2-1.
- This term in Drama, Y9 have been exploring different practitioner's styles of theatre. This week we have looked into Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty and Frantic Assembly's Chair Duets. The Y9s have really succeeded in taking on this abstract style of theatre. Next term, Y9 students will choose a practitioner they have studied and devise their own performances based on a stimulus. This GCSE style extended project will be a real challenge for our students, and we cannot wait to see what they come up with!
Y9 Subject Evening
Our Y9 subject evening will take place on Thursday 23 November. More information will be sent out soon.
PE after half term
Y7, Y8, Y9 boys will be on rugby for their first PE lesson of the week and table tennis for their second lesson of the week. KS4 boys will be on rugby.
Y7, Y8, Y9 girls will be on table tennis for their first PE lesson of the week and rugby for their second lesson of the week. KS4 girls will be on table tennis.
Equipment needed:
Table tennis: Indoor PE kit
Rugby: Gum shield, old clothes suitable for the weather conditions (as students will get wet/muddy - it is recommended that students don't wear their white polo shirts), studded football or rugby boots, change of socks/underwear and a towel.
Y11 mock exams
The Y11 mock exams start with the French speaking exams next Monday 23 October - these will run until Tuesday 24 October. Students will be handed their statement of entry at the beginning of next week which details when and where their exams will be held. The exam timetable can be accessed by the link below. If required, exam pencil cases can be purchased via ParentPay and collected from Reception. Exams - Hope Valley College (chorustrust.org)
Job Vacancies
We are currently recruiting for a Catering Assistant (permanent role). For more information and to apply, please see the school website: Vacancies - Hope Valley College (chorustrust.org)
Secondary School Admissions
The closing date for secondary school admissions for current Year 6 students is 31 October 2023. Applications should be made via the Derbyshire County Council website: Secondary school admissions - Derbyshire County Council
Thank you for reading our communication. Here are some helpful email addresses, should you need to contact us:
Kind regards |
Gaynor Jones, Principal
Hope Valley College
T: 01433 620555