Key Notes: 16 July 2021

16th July 2021

Coronavirus measures from Monday 19^th July

You will be aware that England moves to Step 4 of the roadmap on Monday. Whilst restrictions are loosened in a number of areas please note that they remain the same in school until the end of this term. Therefore, pupils will need to continue to wear masks on buses and will be staying in their year group ‘bubbles’. This is to minimise the spread of any cases. We have been very fortunate so far as a school and had very few cases; I would like to thank you for all your support in keeping things this way. We have liaised closely with the Local Authority about our arrangements for Sportsday on Monday and for the trips on Wednesday and they are happy for both to go ahead as planned unless things change significantly. We will remind pupils about continued vigilance on Monday and would be grateful if you could do the same over this weekend.

Year 8 & 10 Reports

These were due to be published today. We apologise that they will be delayed slightly until early next week.

Visit from Anthony Browne MP

Yesterday we were delighted to welcome our local MP Anthony Browne.  We talked about how MVC are supporting pupils with additional needs, our successful Mandarin Excellence Programme, and he viewed some of our pupils’ amazing artwork. He also met with some pupils from our EcoGroup to learn about the environmental work they have been doing in school, including reducing carbon emissions, recycling and creating wildlife habitats for pollinating insects.

Sensory Room

It has been wonderful to see how popular the Sensory Room has become with pupils using it more on a daily basis.  Patrick in Year 9 has been fundraising to buy equipment for the room.  He held a cupcake sale for staff and has been selling vegetables that he has grown himself in the school garden.  He has raised over £100 so far and has put the money towards buying a projector which can display different lighting effects and shapes on the walls and ceiling. He is asking if anyone has any faux leather bean bags they could donate so that pupils can sit comfortably on these and enjoy the projected lights.

Oodles of Noodles

Pupils in Year 9 have enjoyed their Virtual China visit including different online activities such as Panda Zoo, Winter Olympics, and a live visit to Beijing and Chendu. They also performed online for a music festival and had live talks with Chinese children. All the activities have boosted their language knowledge and culture awareness. While watching Chinese cookery online last week, they asked Mr Fan to cook some noodles for them to celebrate the last day of their virtual visit.  Here they are enjoying a picnic of ‘Shanghai Noodles’ cooked by Mr Fan on a lovely sunny afternoon.

Sports day on Monday

Sports Day is on Monday 19th July, and pupils will need to come to school in their PE kits. The weather is looking excellent so please make sure that pupils are dressed for the warm weather, have plenty of water and sun cream. The pupils will be outside for a maximum of 2 hours but will have access to shade in between events.

School Uniform for Pupil Premium

Information about school uniform for Pupil Premium children starting in year 7 has now been updated on our school website here.

Young Carers

The Young Carers’ Notice Board in the main corridor has been updated with lots of information about support available.  Since our pupil survey in March additional pupils have come forward who identify as young carers, and they have been signposted to Centre 33 for support.  If pupils believe they are a young carer, please speak to Mrs Daly or email sdaly@melbournvc.org.  

LGBTQ+

The LGBTQ+ noticeboard has been a great topic of discussion with the pupils. We recently had an assembly with Bethan Rees from The Kite Trust, which was very informative. MVC has signed up to the Rainbow Flag Award. If parents or pupils require information in relation to LGBTQ+ please contact Mrs Daly in Pastoral Support (sdaly@melbournvc.org)

Online Safety Newsletter – July 2021

July's Online Safety Newsletter is being sent out with this edition of Key Notes and can be viewed online here. This month's newsletter looks specifically at WhatsAPP, it gives information about online bullying and how you can report and block a contact. It also covers Instagram and their new updates and shows how users will now have the option to hide ‘like’ counts on all posts. There is a section on Nude Images with a reminder about the Report Remove tool launched by Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation. It contains informative links to In-game Spending Tips and Age-appropriate games. There is a section on Extremism and Radicalisation, looking at Educate Against Hate which has been developed by the Department for Education and the Home Office to provide practical advice and support to protect children from extremism and radicalisation.

Out-of-School Sports Activities

Last week we featured Lily who is one of our only pupils at MVC to be playing regular hard ball cricket.  This week we want to highlight some of the great work our boys have done. Pictured here is Matt (10H), who recently signed for Reed Cricket Club, in his new kit. Matt achieved a rare feat by taking a wicket with his first ball in a competitive match for Reed.

Year 9 pupils Oli, George and Kerian also play for Reed.  Oli has bowled particularly well, playing up a year for the U/15s. Joseph is currently playing for Thriplow.  All these pupils will hopefully benefit from playing a different sport in the summer as they have chosen to take GCSE PE.  One of the requirements of this course is that pupils need to perform in three different sports, and so we are delighted that they will be taking this opportunity.

Finally, well done to Oscar (Y8) for decorating his Spanish book with this great Spanish-themed drawing!

Have a good weekend,

Simon Holmes

 

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