Last day ...... first day

This term will finish on Thursday, March 29 at 1.15.Thursday, March 29 will be a non-uniform day at a cost of £1 per student. Next term begins for students on Tuesday, April 17 at 8.50

Castle MattersSpring 2018

Studying Science at Disneyland Paris

The coach ride was long from Dudley to Paris but passed without a glitch. For some of our youngsters it was their first time away from home, first time abroad and first time to Disneyland, Paris. Off the coach, a quick change of clothes and then the students were whisked into their first Design a Rollercoaster Engineering workshop, where not only did they explore the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) that goes into the white-knuckle rides, they also got to experience the rides and theme park for themselves. Students then went away to develop and devise their own super roller-coaster, details of which they then fed back to the groups. Communication was key to success as they not only had to consider the STEM that went into their ride, but also the impact it would have on the local environment.

Our students also had some free time and lots of fun, exploring Disneyland and all it had to offer with some even using their linguistic skills they had learnt in MFL, albeit to buy McDonalds.

Throughout the three days, their behaviour was impeccable, manners exemplary and each student a credit to and an ambassador of Castle High School. Our thanks to Mrs Cable, the Science Department and the accompanying members of staff for the fantastic opportunity.

From Brandon DrabbleDisneyland Paris correspondent

From the Head’s deskThis may have been a relatively short term but it has certainly seen a huge number of activities going on, especially at the two ends of the school. Year 11 have been focusing all their efforts on their exam preparation and Year 7 students have taken to their new L4L curriculum with enthusiasm.

As usual at this time of year the hour before school, after school and the minutes at breaks and lunchtimes are filled with groups of Year 11 students taking the opportunity to do as much revision as they can before the terminal examinations begin in little more than eight weeks. To help with the stress, we will once again be running revision classes over the Easter holidays and we will be targeting students to take advantage of sessions being run by Dudley College. Please ask your child for more details.

Work with our partner schools in the Dudley Academies Trust has been on-going throughout this term and is already bearing fruit. You can read of the success of a G&T Art project on the opposite page; sessions have also taken place around Science, English and Maths. Staff from all four schools are meeting regularly to structure a new curriculum for Years 9-11 for implementation from September; there will be more news about this in next term’s newsletter.

The school website has details of how parents, carers and members of the local community can apply to be part of the School’s Advisory Board to have a real say in supporting the school.

One major initiative which has come out of the Trust is the implementation of a new curriculum for our Year 7 students. Literacy for Life (L4L) is a thematic curriculum which is heavily based on the development of the skills needed by each student to make progress. Such a personalised approach to learning will enable students to transfer the skills they have learned into other areas and use critical thinking more readily in their learning. Year 7 students now have their own L4L base and are working hard to adapt to the demands of this exciting development.

One of the many reasons that time passes so quickly is the sheer number of activities which take place in school on a daily basis. I am extremely proud of the efforts of both students and staff in making sure that the daily business of teaching and learning continues at the highest standards whilst still finding time for everything else that they do.

Finally, a big thank you to all our parents and carers who do such a fabulous job in supporting our students. What we do would not be possible without you and it is very much appreciated.

Attendance

news

91 students have 100% attendance

this school year

Top three forms this term :

7KT - 96.2%

11KC - 95.9%

8PCO - 95.6%

Over the last few weeks, we have been promoting our Momentum agenda with Year 11 students. The aim has been to encourage students to make the absolute best use they can of the time they have left with us, and build up the momentum they need to take them into their GCSE exams. This has involved motivational work, assemblies, focus day sessions and the launch of our

GCSEPod and PIXL apps to encourage independent exam preparation.I am delighted to say that the majority of our Year 11 have embraced this approach, and I have been inundated with positive feedback and praise from staff regarding improving attitudes and progress. It seems that most of our students are doing all they can to peak at just the right time.

I have also been asked by numerous parents about the best ways that they can help. One measure that we are running for the first time this year is a session aimed at parents rather than students. On Wednesday 28th March at 5.30pm we will be offering a session

where we will try to give specific guidance as to how parents can actively get involved in these last few weeks.

We will effectively give “crash courses” in Maths and English, suggesting in 15 minutes the key knowledge that we think parents should have in order to best support their children. We will also be offering a short session in conjunction with our partners at Dudley College where they will share what they can offer our leavers.

We know that the majority of our parents want to do everything they can to help their children build momentum, so we would love to see as many of you as possible there.

Y11 Momentum - how can parents help?

MAT Art project

17 Spring term begins for students - 8.50

20-29 10 Internal examinations27 Y7 Parents’ Evening and reports issued, 5.00-7.00

4 INSET day - school closed to students7 May day holiday school closed14 GCSE written exams begin16 Y9 Parents’ Evening and reports issued, 5.00-7.00 28 Half-term holiday

2-13 Y7-9 internal exams2-6 Primary induction week17 PHSCE Focus Day18 Y8 & Y10 interim reports issued18 Music Concert, 7.0019 Sports Day20 Last day of term

Gifted and Talented students from the four Trust schools came together recently to work on an Art project inspired by Kew Gardens. Using a range of media and techniques, the students created press print designs, some clay models, tote bags bearing their own designs and a variety of posters.

The project was led by Castle’s Mrs Griffiths who was impressed by the end results. “The students have shown a great deal of talent to produce such excellent work using such different techniques. There certainly is a huge amount of artistic expertise across our four schools!”

Summer term - important dates

Sport Matters

Another successful year for the boys’ basketball teams has resulted in the U16s completing 3 years in the top league in the area and despite some disappointing results this season, they have always performed to a high standard; my best wishes to them for the future. The U15s came runners up in the top league and narrowly lost to eventual cup winners Holly Hall by 1 point after a 14 point head start for Holly Hall. This was an excellent game and full credit to both teams. The U14s not only remained unbeaten in the local league winning 6 from 6, they then defeated Old Swinford Hospital to qualify for the Black Country Games Finals. This was a learning experience for our lads and we found the step up in class too great but will come back stronger for it next year.

In the annual Year 7 & 8 tournaments we entered two teams in both events when many other local schools did not enter at all, this is testament to the dedication of the students who train and how keen they are. The Year 7s lost in the final coming runners-up to Hillcrest. In the Year 8 tournament our team came out winners against an exceedingly strong Hillcrest team 5-4 with Tasheka scoring a winning 3 pointer with only seconds remaining. Well done to all involved. It will be tough next season when we revert to full court basketball and I hope that our players are ready to train hard for this!

We have had a great season for both girls’ basketball teams. Both teams came runners up in the league despite having many games cancelled and a disruptive run of training sessions. We played excellently against all local schools and the girls have became superb basketballers as a result.

In March we again took some students to our annual basketball trip to watch Worcester Wolves play Manchester Giants and, as usual, Worcester did not disappoint. Another victory scoring over 100 points and we even managed to get a few students involved in the half-time court entertainment!

Y11 Netball Team Please help ...

If you have any old PE kit which no longer fits your child, we are more than happy to find it a

home.

Please pass any unwanted kit to the PE department for us to use. This includes

t-shirts, shorts, tracksuits, football socks, shin pads, trainers or football boots.