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USH Newsletter 6th November 2015

Message from Mr Woods

Grandparents hold a very special place in our hearts and in terms of education, you can often be the 'unsung heroes' of the working week.  We have chosen to make our 11th November Remembrance Day a community event and we would love to welcome you to Upper Shirley High School to see your grandchild's school in action; to join us in paying our respects to those who fought and those who continue to fight for our freedom.  Last year we received some great feedback on the event, so we have increased the capacity and can welcome even more guests - and provide more cream teas!  

We hope to see you there.

With kind regards

Stuart Woods


Grandparent Open Morning on Remembrance Day

On Wednesday 11th November we would like students to invite their Grandparents into school to give them the opportunity to join our Remembrance Day Commemoration, and have a tour of our School.

On the day we would like Grandparents to arrive at 10.50am, so that they are ready to observe a one minute silence with staff and students at 11am. Following the commemoration, Grandparents will have the opportunity to have a look around our School enjoying a personalised tour from their grandchild. Tea and cake will be available at the end of tours and we will close our doors to visitors at 12.45pm.  We will be asking students for visitor numbers closer to the event so that we can make the necessary arrangements.

Please do encourage Grandparents to come along to this event.


Paris Trip

"The best thing about Paris was Disneyland because the rides were really fun; I went on Space Mountain and the Tower of Terror which were my favourites.  I also saw the parade including Mickey and Minnie Mouse and bought some presents for my brother and sister.

In Paris, I really liked the Eiffel Tower - I got all the way to the top, but it was really foggy, so you couldn't see much!  We travelled around Paris by Metro which meant we got everywhere quicker.  In the evening we ate at a restaurant in town and then went back to the hotel by bus with the city all lit up.  We timed it just right to see the Eiffel Tower flashing its lights."  Olivia Norton, Year 8

Paris, as ever didn't let us down.  Despite the heavy skies, we made our way around the sites of Paris with 80 of our current Year 8.  We arrived at our hotel a little later than planned, having missed our ferry due to heavy traffic on the M20.  The following day, we woke up to rain, but this eased during the day.  Because of the weather there were less people at the Eiffel Tower, so the queues were shorter and, despite the limited views, a group made it to the very top where Mr Bhardwaj did his best to stay on two feet!  We were a little surprised at Sacre Couer to find a newlywed couple sitting on the steps instead of the usual musicians and buskers!  Our bus drivers took us on a tour of the city after dinner through the Place de la Concorde, up the Champs Elysées and around the Arc de Triomphe; a crazy roundabout where fortune really did favour those who had the biggest bus!

The next day was spent at Disneyland, the morning in the main park with Space Mountain the clear favourite amongst the students.  We crossed to the Studios in the afternoon to try the Tower of Terror, the Rock 'n' Rollin' rollercoaster and the Crush'coaster which had you spinning in all directions. 

Luckily the weather was kind to us on Sunday and our crossing was peaceful until the students found out about the school closure the following day!

Another memorable visit to one of the most beautiful cities in the world for Year 8. Current Year 7s: look out for information in the New Year for Paris 2016.

Accelerated Reader and Renaissance Home Connect

This term we have been introducing Y7 students to the Accelerated Reader programme, and encouraging Y8 students to continue their progress. In the next few days, these students will be bringing home a letter informing parents how to use Renaissance Home Connect to view their child’s progress on Accelerated Reader.

Accelerated Reader is a way of encouraging, monitoring and rewarding reading for pleasure. Students are tested and then encouraged to read books at an appropriate level. Once they have finished a book, they take a short online quiz to demonstrate their understanding. The books used are popular fiction titles from the school Library. Students may also read books from home or other libraries as most children’s fiction titles are included.

In order to make the best possible progress, students should read for at least 20 minutes a day. Some of this will be done during the school day, during our Drop Everything And Read sessions, but please encourage your son/daughter to read at home too, perhaps by asking them to read aloud to you, or discuss the book they are reading.

How does Renaissance Home Connect help me improve my child’s reading progress?

  • You can view your child’s progress toward reading targets, and view all books that your child has read and quizzes your child has taken.
  • You can access an online search tool, AR BookFinder, to search for books using various criteria, including author, subject or reading level.
  • You can receive emails that reveal results for Reading Practice Quizzes. The emails also provide links to the Website where you can check progress.

If you need any further information or help please contact Rosina.Mount@ushschool.org

Year 9 - Sign up for DofE!

If you are in Year 9 and you are interested in doing your Bronze DofE Award, please see Mrs Turner, Mr Day or Mrs Murphy.

Parenting Workshops

Some parents have already emailed us to tell us how useful they found the Parenting Workshop on Tuesday 15th September.  Each session is targeted at a different area and you do not have to attend all sessions.  They are free to all USH parents, so if you are free for the remaining sessions, please come along.  Please use the links below to book onto any of the sessions that may be of interest to you.

Session Three - Tuesday 17th November: Adolescent & Teenage Girls Development, 7.30-9.30pm www.ushadolescentgirls.eventbrite.co.uk

Session Four - Monday 14th December: Managing Anger & Strong Emotions, 7.30-9.30pm www.ushmanaginganger.eventbrite.co.uk


Netball Update

Netball

The Netball Team continued their winning ways just before Half Term, winning all of their games:

U14
USH 21-1 Woodlands
USH 9-5 St George's
USH 22-2 Sholing

U16A
USH 11-5 Cantell

U16B
USH 12-1 Cantell


Year 10 Football Results

The Year 10 Football Team have gone into the Winter Break on the back off three wins in the City League and Cup competitions.  The team have displayed an excellent level of commitment this term, showing high levels of teamwork, passion and effort.

Results so far have been:

League
Widern 1-7 USH

League Cup
St George's 0-4 USH
USH 3-1 Bitterne Park

The win against Bitterne Park has seen the side go through to the Final of the City Cup, due to be played in March 2016.  The boys involved in the team so far this year are:

Jamie Ferguson
Tom Parker Trott
Dom Lawrence
Ethan Kimber
Owen Collins
Jared Cook
Seb Szymula
Harry Jones
Marco Gashi
Joe Biffin
Liam Biggs
Ali Alsubaie
Josh Reed
Christos Papakonstantinou
Hamish Hannah
Charlie Carter Banks

Well done to all of you!

Mr Hall


Swimming Club

This takes place on a Wednesday after School.  If you are interested in joining, please see Miss Marks.  Thank you.


Recycle your used Postage Stamps and raise money for the RNIB!

The Royal National Institute for the Blind collect used postage stamps to fund Guide Dog Training.  If you would like to donate any stamps, please remove them from envelopes (with a 1cm border all round the stamp) and hand them into Reception.  We will then send them to the RNIB.

Thank you!

Mrs Cookson