002_Y9and10_22May2020_ECI

 

 

Essential College Info​ - 22.05.20 

 

Years 9 & 10 

 

College open just for key worker children and vulnerable students - until further notice

Dear Year 9 & 10 Parent/Carers,

Maintaining high expectations during lockdown

The lockdown has changed the paradigm in which our students not only learn but live. With this momentous
challenge, maintaining high expectations is important as ever. As a college, our motto is ‘realising potential’. This
has not changed during the lockdown. Every moment in every lesson is a precious opportunity to expand
knowledge, gain emotional intelligence, develop resilience and strive towards realising potential.

With this in mind, we are deeply aware of the challenges in lockdown. As we approach term 6, students can
start to feel the strain of isolated learning. Please rest assured that as a college, we are working tirelessly to
support students in every way we can: classroom teachers, form tutors, directors of year, pastoral leads and the
senior leadership team are all at hand to offer assistance to all students at any time. We are also aware that this
is a trying time for parents too. This support extends to you also.

Thank you for your support and efforts in encouraging these expectations of our students at home. We know at
times this can be challenging. Below are some key points to help your child reach their potential in every lesson
as we move into the final term:

❏ Ensure your child has registered in every lesson. Report any absence/illness through Edulink. Pastoral
Leaders are following up lesson absences via email; please communicate with them regarding your
child’s absence if contacted.

❏ Ensure your child fully engages with the lesson instructions - read them, re-read them and watch the
videos. This preparation for learning will support them with any later tasks or quizzes in the lesson.

❏ Encourage your child to see the lesson in chunks or steps, in situations where they feel they can’t do the
work. Tackle each task separately, and celebrate the smaller achievements. Focus on what they h​ ave
done in a lesson, rather than dwell on the question they may have missed.

❏ Use the tools in Google Read and Write to support literacy: it can ‘read’ text to you, provide a reading
overlay on the screen, talk-text functions and much more.

❏ Always encourage your child to communicate clearly with their teachers in the Google Classroom
comments if they have a question in a lesson. Ask them to avoid “I don’t get it” and instead write a
clear question about the specific idea, task or concept that they find challenging.

Cultural Experience Challenge
During this lockdown period there are very few opportunities to engage with cultural experiences ‘in the flesh’.
However, students can still enrich their learning (and enjoy themselves) by taking in some virtual culture. Here
is document which has a link to ​100 Cultural Experiences​. Please share with your child and encourage them to
take part in some of them.

 

 
Consolidation Days
With continuing uncertainty about when we will fully reopen, we are provisionally planning for further
Consolidation Days for Years 9 and 10 during June:
Friday 5th June
Thursday 11th June
Wednesday 17th June
Tuesday 23rd June
Monday 29th June

Since the introduction of the consolidation days, our Year 9 and 10 students have been making the most of the
time to ensure that they are up to date with their work in all of their subjects, as well as ensuring that they are
regularly revising the material that they have already covered.
As no real-time lessons will be taking place on these days, students have the responsibility for setting their own
schedule for the day, in addition to deciding what they need to work on.
As such, this is the guidance that students should follow when planning their consolidation days.

1. Check that you have completed all homeworks and the tasks from all of your lessons since the last
Consolidation Day.
2. Choose 3 topics covered this week from any subject(s) and make revision flashcards on those topics (use
these techniques when making/using your flash cards:

● Cards must be question - answer or statement - summary (retrieval).
● Don’t drop cards once you think you’ve learnt them (overlearning).
● Mix them up once learnt (interleaving).
● Test, test, test (self testing, peer, parents etc).

Form Mentor messages
Two weeks ago the Year 10 Form Mentors sent some lovely messages to the students in their form groups. This
week it is the turn of the Year 9 Team. Click on the names below to see the link to the messages.

Uplifting Uckfield
At the end of each week, we will be collecting in a photo of a piece of work that your child has produced that
they’re proud of. We will then be celebrating the best of these on social media. P​ lease let us know if you would
prefer that your child's name and/or work is not used on social media platforms. You have previously completed
photograph consent forms and we will not use photographs of students if you did not give your consent.
Students will share their work with us​ via this ​link.​

Trip Refunds
For those of you still waiting for refunds on school trips, we thank you for your patience.
We have refunded all we can to date and are now waiting for the Insurance Claims for the deposits for Paris,
Porto and the Netball trip to be paid back to us.
We have had an email this week to say that they have all been received and are being assessed.
As soon as we are able to update you, we will let you know.
As previously mentioned, please email us at [email protected] should you need support in the
interim.

Pastoral Good News
Achievement Points since remote school started
Achievement points are one of the many ways we celebrate student achievements. They are given by
staff members for high quality homework and classwork, as well as for positive character traits, including;
helping others; showing determination; and overcoming difficulties.
In total over 39,000 Achievement points have been awarded to our students for their work
during remote school learning.
1062 students have been awarded more than ten achievement points.
863 students have been awarded more than twenty achievement points.
657 students have been awarded more than thirty achievement points.
194 students have been awarded more than FIFTY achievement points.

Attendance during Remote Learning
We are very proud to announce that more than 93% of students are attending ALL of their online lessons
each day.
We have 811 students from Year 7,8,9,10 and 12 with attendance greater than 95% and we are
determined to increase this further in the final term of this year.

 

 

Non- completion of remote learning work
Positive behaviour in College is a very significant indicator of student academic success and well-being.
We can boast that more than 1000 of our students have fewer than 2 non completion of remote learning
points meaning that for most of the time they are completing all of their lessons and homework on time
and to a high standard.
Almost 700 of our students have zero incidents of non- completion of remote learning work meaning they
are ALWAYS completing their online lessons and homework to a high standard; their attitude and self
motivation is exemplary; and they take pride in their work every day.

Please take time to discuss this positive news with your child. If they are part of the majority with a large
number of achievement points, fewer than 2 incidents of non- completion of work and with high levels of
attendance, please tell them how proud you are of them and how proud Uckfield College is of them. They
are shaping and defining the high-expectations culture of Uckfield College in these challenging times.

We hope that you are all keeping safe and well during this very difficult time.​Finally, we hope you all have an
enjoyable half term break next week.
Take care,

Lianne Shaw  James Gietzen
Director of Year 9
Director of Year 10
 

YEAR 9 INFORMATION

National Book Tokens Writing Competition

'National Book Tokens' are running a writing competition.

Write a story of up to 300 words, using the theme BIG DREAMS for the chance to win a grand prize of a £200
National Book Token, with added prizes of 2 x £100 and 16 x £50.

You can interpret the theme however you like: an epic fantasy inspired by a dream, an amazing adventure
that takes place in another world, or a true-to-life story set in an imaginary school. The winning stories will be
chosen by not one, not two, but six amazing Puffin authors: Nathan Bryon and Sam Copeland (6-10), Robin
Stevens and Yassmin Abdel-Magied (11-15), and Emma Smith-Barton and Carrie Hope Fletcher (15-18).

Follow t​ his link​ and submit your entry by 28th May.

Good luck!

The English Department.

Well done Year 9! Myself and the rest of the Year 9 team have been so impressed with the positive
feedback that we have received from other teachers about how well our Year 9s have been engaging and
coping with remote learning this term.

Thanks must also go to our wonderful parents and carers for helping to keep the children on track with
their remote learning, and all of the support that you have shown our staff in our efforts to ensure that
our students are engaging with their online learning

After so many weeks away from school, the whole Year 9 team is very much missing our students, so we
have put together some little messages for them to say hello and encourage them to keep on top of their
remote learning when we return to lessons after half term.

Ms Shaw Mr Munroe Mrs Ingino-Jupp Ms Dawkins Dr Barham Ms Smith

 

  Mr Littlejohns Ms Preston Mr Brunson Mr Bashford Mrs Mitchell
Mrs Latter

Attendance
Top 3 - Form Groups
 

Achievement Points
Year 9 hit 8​ 631 ​ACHIEVEMENT POINTS so far During Remote learning

TOP 5 STUDENTS
Sophia Anstis
Mia Banham
Ellice Bridger
Roman Blundell
James Jenner

Well done
Lianne Shaw
Director of Year 9

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YEAR 10 INFORMATION

Mrs Martin and myself are tremendously proud of the work and effort that has gone into your remote
learning, well done.

I must echo Miss Shaw’s words about the support offered by our wonderful parents and carers in
motivating your children. I can speak first hand, balancing work and teaching your own children is one
difficult task. I applaud you all.

You will have seen lots in the news regarding the potential opening of schools for some year groups on
June 1st. This date is a provisional one based on the Government's final decision to be made on May
28th. One year group they have mentioned in relation to this date is Year 10. The Government wants
Year 10 to have some face to face time with their teachers before the Summer Holiday break.

We are not planning any changes to the remote learning programme for Y10 on June 1st, so students will
carry on with their remote learning as usual. We are however making plans for when we think it will be
safe for our Year 10s to have some learning in school. Our current planning is around how we can ensure
students are safe in school and the remote learning they are having is not disrupted. Once the
Government has made their final decision on reopening schools for some year groups and also provided

 

 
schools with their updated guidance on how to do this, we will communicate our plans for any changes to
the remote learning for year 10 with you.

Attendance
Top 3 - Form Groups

Achievement Points

Year 10 have been awarded 7​ 695​ ACHIEVEMENT POINTS so far during remote learning

TOP 5 STUDENTS
Lucy Salkeld
Jennifer Mitchell
Isabel Lynch
Josh Chesson
Henry Lock

Well Done
James Gietzen
Director of Year 10

Notices 

Half term careers information webinars - free
Get Career Confident is a local careers organisation based in Brighton. They are putting on a series of very
useful looking webinars for both parents and students during half term. These are free to access and
although some of the content may be more relevant to people living in Brighton there will be lots of useful
information for everyone. Full details are attached below.

Thank you.
Uckfield College Careers Department

PARENT/CARER WEBINARS
We are pleased to be emailing you about a series of live information sessions we have coming up this month
for parents and carers. Using the Zoom platform, our advisors will be providing live talks followed by an
opportunity to ask questions on specific topics. You don’t need to have a Zoom account to join the talk - you
can just click the links below.

And you won’t be required to be on video - you will see our speakers but they won’t be able to see you!

We hope you are able to join us!

If you would like to send a question in advance of the session, please email us on

 

 
[email protected]​ and we will include as many as possible.
Lunchtime Live: live Zoom sessions for parents and carers
To join a talk, click the link at the time advertised. You will be asked to enter your name and email address -
this is so we know who has attended but we won't do anything with your email info, and Zoom does not store
or process it. If you are a little early, you may see a notice saying ‘waiting for the host to start the meeting’.
Miranda, Mark or Terry will start the meeting as close to the advertised time as possible.
Year 10s Planning Next Steps - Friday 29th May 12.30pm
20 minutes plus time for Q&A
In this session careers advisor Mark Anderson will cover tips on how to support your Year 10 children to
prepare for post 16 choices including college and apprenticeships. We will look at what research they can
undertake now to help them get thinking about the right pathway for them.
To join this session, click ​here.​
We hope you can join us.
The information about the live Zoom sessions will be available on our w​ ebsite.
Make sure you follow us on F​ acebook​ so you can keep informed of developments at schools,
colleges, apprenticeship providers, universities and the world of work.

The ACRES team have been working hard to transfer their courses online.​

We have lots of courses to offer that might be of interest to you including a F​ ree
Maths Workshop​ aimed at helping parents to improve their maths skills and help with
children's schoolwork.
From September will have Functional Skills English & Maths, GCSE English & Maths
which are FREE to any eligible learner who has not previously obtained a grade 4/C At
GCSE or equivalent.
ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) is another that may interest your parent's whose first
language is not English.
Due to the current situation; to register interest we ask that e​ mail ​your​ choice of course to us or call us on
01825 761820 on Tue, Wed or Thursday 10 am to 3 pm
We also have a new look w​ ebsite​ with easy navigation and better search facility.
This has a link to your school's website from our homepage:

Please keep an eye out for an email re locker clearance​ - which will commence
the week after half term. If you don't receive an email, we believe the locker is
empty. If this is not the case please email: [email protected]

 

 

Advice on using Zoom

Since the start of the Covid-19 lockdown, people have needed to find alternative ways to communicate. Many,
including schools, are using Zoom – a popular video conferencing application that has seen a meteoric rise in
popularity since the pandemic began. Unfamiliar users can leave themselves vulnerable to ‘Zoom Bombing’
where uninvited users gain access to the meeting for nefarious purposes.

Sussex Police have prepared guidance following a particularly unpleasant incident that took place in Sussex
which they have asked to be shared with schools to ensure, if schools are using Zoom, children are kept safe.
The guidance is available here​.

Specsavers Virtual School Games
Uckfield students continue to top the Spirit of the Games leaderboard for the
second consecutive week. This is a great achievement as it means that we have
the most students competing in the Specsavers School Games out of any Sussex
secondary school. This
week our students
competed in Tennis
challenges, which saw
Uckfield College finish in 63rd place overall.

There are also the opportunities for parents to
engage in the competition. It would be great to see
lots of our parents and past students having a go at
these weekly challenges and logging their scores
online. T​ he weekly challenges, along with the
leaderboards, can be found at
https://www.activesussex.org/virtual/.​
Good luck!

East Sussex Young Carers provided by Imago Community are asking that schools take this time
to promote support for Young Carers.

A Young Carer is someone aged between 5 – 18-years-old who is responsible for caring for a member of a
family with a long-term condition, disability, mental health or substance misuse issues. The Young Carer could
be providing physical, practical or emotional support to the cared for. For support please visit the website
below to make a referral -
ttps://www.imago.community/Children-and-Young-People/East-Sussex-Young-Carers
Alternatively, contact your child's pastoral leader at Uckfield College school and ask them to make the referral
on behalf of the family.

The Book of Hopes: Words and Pictures to Comfort, Inspire and Entertain Children
in Lockdown

https://literacytrust.org.uk/family-zone/9-12/book-hopes/

Sussex Uniforms Covid-19 response:
Firstly, thank you everyone for your continued custom during this difficult time.

In response to the current situation with COVID-19 and the government's guidelines
we would like to reassure customers that Sussex Uniforms are s​ till open online​.

 

 

Currently we are not experiencing any delays, but with reduced capacity there may be times that orders take
a bit longer, so please ​place your order as early as possible​.

The customer service team are working from home to assist customers and have introduced a new live chat
section to the website in order to assist with any customer questions or queries.

The Sussex Uniforms Team - ​https://www.sussexuniforms.co.uk/ 

Speakers for Schools
Speakers for Schools is an organisation that brings inspirational speakers into schools. During lockdown they
are hosting a variety of on-line talks that are suitable for a range of year groups. Please have a look at their
schedule and encourage your child to listen in to ones that interest them.

The complete schedule to send to students is h​ ere.​ Please send this schedule to your students. We advise
sending a daily or weekly email to inform your students of the talks being livestreamed.

How to access VTalks
No logins are required and all attendees can stream the talks without downloading Microsoft Teams. Links
should be opened in a browser that is not Internet Explorer. Students can view by clicking WATCH TALK LIVE
HERE and then clicking ‘Watch on web instead’ and sign in anonymously. The speakers will appear at the set
times e.g. 10am and 2pm.

 
East Sussex Music Instrumental/Vocal Lessons - Continuing remotely
Our wonderful instrumental and vocal teachers are offering virtual lessons so your son/daughter can continue
learning their instruments during the lockdown. For more information and to sign up for online lessons please
read ​the attached letter.​ Mr Gower - Director of Music 

Supporting Children with Learning Disability/ASD Coping with COVID-19
Isolation
Please see the attached link ​SEND link

SLN:Uni Connect Online Parental Engagement Programme - ​Neuro-Ninja programme
Andrew Wright will be running a series of three free online interventions to students and their parents/carers.
More information from Andrew on the programme below and ​is here​ as well for you to see him in action.
Please let ​[email protected]​ know if you’re interested in the programme and we can put you in touch
with Andrew directly.

Q: What’s a Neuro-Ninja?
A: Someone who lives in their brain knowing how it works and how to get the very best out of it. By learning
about our amazing brains we can help our students become unstoppable in pursuit of their dreams.

We’ve learnt more about our amazing brains in the last 10 years than we have in the last 10,000. This is stuff
none of us ever learnt at school. Once we understand our amazing brains we can help our children to become
neuro-ninjas, living inside their brains in ways that help them get more out of learning and life every day.

The webinars we're offering are:
Webinar 1 - For students on Being A Study Neuro-Ninja (1 Hr)
In this webinar students will learn about their amazing brain and how to apply what we know about the most
effective strategies to support learning direct to their daily experience. We'll teach them about the
importance of deliberate rest and deliberate practice and explain why space repetition works at the level of
the brain. This is an interactive, engaging and fun webinar which will leave students knowing how to use
every day to get the very best out of their amazing brain. This webinar will finish with students having

 

 
strategies to try before the next webinar which will include their parents. Target audience: Y9, Y10, Y11, Y12
and Y13 students.
Webinar 2 - For parents and students together - How To Use Neuro-Ninja Habits Every Learning
Day (usually a week after Seminar 1 for 1 hour)
In this webinar we'll teach parents and students how to construct a daily plan that works with their amazing
brain to get more engagement, enjoyment and learning from every day. This webinar will also include
strategies to make a daily plan a reality every day.
An interactive tutorial webinar recapping the key ideas Webinar 1 and 2​ ​(1 hour & usually a
week on from Webinar 2)
In this webinar we'll support consolidation, offer feedback and answer questions and give further examples of
how to build the daily plan.

Job Vacancies - ​see link to current vacancies page here for both Support staff and Teachers
https://www.uckfield.college/vacancies

Online safety
We know that you, parents and carers, are having to manage your child’s use of
technology and help them learn remotely. This can feel overwhelming but we
would like to share some resources to help you to ensure your child is safe and
happy online:
● Internet matters​ - for support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
● Net-aware​ - for support for parents and carers from the NSPCC
● Parent info​ - for support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online
● Thinkuknow​ - for advice from the National Crime Agency to stay safe online
● UK Safer Internet Centre​ - advice for parents and carers

Uckfield College Life​ ​- ​April’s Issue

 

 
Uckfield College Life will be published once a month. W​ e have attached the Newsletter to the title
above - if you wish you can click on the title to see the newsletter. P​ lease e-mail details to Toni Fletcher,
[email protected].​
Term dates​ for the Academic years 19/20 and 20/21 - ​http://www.uckfield.college/termdates
Reporting Absences - S​ ee ​link to information on Website
Uckfield College Facebook - ​Uckfield College Facebook page
UCTC TWITTER- Follow us on ​Twitter @​ UckfieldCollege