USH Newsletters

20th September 2019

  • And they lived happily ever after .....

    Our congratulations to Kate Ramsden and Nathan Hack (Head Girl and Head Boy 2012-13), who married on 17th August 2019 at St James by the Park, Shirley. Kate was the first ever Head Girl at USH. They are both pursuing careers in teaching.

     

  • Completion of Transition

    To complete our transition journey for this year, we have invited all Y6 staff up from our primary feeder schools to visit the students they taught last year. The visit gives them an opportunity to see how well their 2018-19 cohort have settled into secondary school life and also gives them an opportunity to see some of the learning that is taking place in lessons, before they cut their ties and enable them to embark on a new chapter in their education.

    Our first visit was from Mrs Norton (Hollybrook Junior School) on Wednesday 18th September. The students were really excited to see her and it was nice to be able to facilitate a space for them all to do some ‘catching up’! Conversations were flowing amongst some light refreshments out on the front lawn and a learning walk of all Y7 lessons took place.

    Some students commented on how grateful they were for the visit:

    'Mrs Norton was my year 6 teacher so it was really good to see her again. Mrs Norton asked us all how we are getting on at USH. I was pleased to tell her it’s a pleasant place here and I am enjoying it. It gave me a chance to ask her how her new class was “its ok” she said. The best bit about her visit was that she brought us biscuits.'  Patricija V

    'To see Mrs Norton again was amazing. She was absent for some of our last days at primary school so it has been a while and I enjoyed the catch up! I really loved being given the opportunity- I hope Mr Milligan can also come over soon.' Nicole W

    'I thought it was amazing to see my teacher Mrs Norton this week. I haven’t seen her in a long time and it was great that she wanted to visit. We won’t see her much now so I was really thankful that I could say goodbye. She brought us biscuits as well which shows she still cares for us!' Kianoosh A

    We are really looking forward to welcoming more Y6 staff from our primary feeder schools very soon!

  • How to make sure teenagers get the sleep they need

    As we get back into routine we appreciate the importance of a good sleep routine and invite parents to read the advise from Dr Guy Meadows, founder and clinical director of the Sleep School on how to get young people into good routines. 

    1. Be regular - Encourage them to get up and go to sleep at the same time every day.

    2. Avoid screens - Try to agree that they will come off screens two hours before bed.

    3. Embrace the wind down - Create a good wind-down routine and let your teenager create a nice area in their bedroom in which to chill, with beanbags, posters, bookshelves, a space to listen to music - somewhere they want to be.

    4. Be role models - Your teen is watching you.  If you're lying in bed scrolling on your phone or watching your iPad at night, why shouldn't they?  Making changes together gives you the opportunity to discuss the results and build a healthy sleep dialogue.

    5. Don't fall out over it - Much of this is biologically driven, and all that tension isn't conductive to good sleep.  Focus on positive messages about benefits.

  • Thank You

    Thank you to Skillbase People Development for their kind and generous donation of office furniture.  We will use these resources to improve the faciities for our staff and students.

  • Careers Day is Coming

    Whole School Careers Day is fast approaching, Thursday 3rd October.   The programme is:

    Year 11   Attending transition days at local colleges

    Year 10   Information sessions, including Sixth Form Colleges, Vocational Colleges, Apprenticeships, Higher Education Work Experience, Career Research using Careerpilot and Speed Networking ‘ Meet the Professional/Undergraduate/Apprentice’

    Year 9   Go to work with an adult

    Year 8   Focus on skills and qualities, Higher Education,  Career Research using Careerpilot and Speed Networking, ‘Meet the Professional/Undergraduate/Apprentice’

    Year 7   Focus on the Career Journal, Family Career Tree, Higher Education,  Career Research using Careerpilot and Speed Networking ‘Meet the Professional/Undergraduate/Apprentice’

     

    If you have not yet returned transition day permission slips  or Go To Work With An Adult paperwork please do so as soon as possible.

     

    Support needed

    If you would like to take part in career activities including:

    ·         Meet the Professional – speed networking event

    ·         Ask the Expert – 15 minute talk

    ·         Mock Interviews – interviewing and providing feedback to students

    Please contact Mrs Anderson for further information.

    carey.anderson@ushschool.org

  • Year 11 College Information

    Year 11 will be receiving assemblies over the coming weeks from our local colleges to inform them about the courses and opportunities that they offer. This is an important time for our students so we are delighted to welcome in these opportunities for the students to gain further information. 

    Thursday 19th September            

    Richard Taunton Sixth Form and City College

    Thursday 26th September            

    Barton Peveril Sixth Form

    Thursday 10th October               

     Itchen Sixth Form

    Thursday 7th November               

    Apprenticeships Assembly 

     

    There is a Transition Day on 3rd October and college times are detailed below:

    COLLEGE

    Richard Taunton Sixth Form College     0930 - 1430

    Itchen Sixth Form College                   0930 - 1400

    Barton Peveril Sixth Form College        1000 - 1400

    Peter Symonds Sixth Form College       1000 - 1400

    City College                                        0930 - 1400

     


    Mr Hall/Mrs Anderson

     

  • News from Finance

    The finance team consists of Harrison Payne (Finance and Payroll Officer) and Kiran Herbert (Finance Assistant). They can be contacted to answer any queries you may have on the finance email address: finance@ushschool.org

    We provide stationary, ties and revision guides for a range of subjects.

    Price List for items provided;

    Pencil – 5p
    Pen – 10p
    Eraser – 5p
    Ruler: 30 cm – 10p
                15cm – 6p
    Compass: Silver – 20p
                        Plastic with pencil – 32p
    Protractor – 5p
    Set Square – 5p
    Calculators - £7
    Tie: £3

    Lend Procedure

    If a student has forgotten their lunch, or does not have enough money on their catering account, we will offer a “lend” facility of £2.60 which will enable them to purchase a main meal and desert.

    Parents will be informed of the lend via text message. We urge parents to top up as soon as possible, this can be loaded onto their accounts using cash at our top-up machines in the foyer or using our online payments system. If you require a link-code to set up an account, please contact the Finance Team and we will have the information sent to you.

    Please note, students with an overdrawn balance will not be eligible for a further “lend” (once one lend has been given, we expect parents to repay the school before further purchases are made. Under exceptional circumstances, a further lend can be provided with authorisation from a member of the School Leadership Team.

    For reference, please click here for our current price list for the canteen.

    Financial Assistance for Uniforms

    If you are receiving Free School Meals, financial assistance may be available to help provide the essential clothing items that your child needs to attend school. The school offers support to eligible parents at the beginning of Year 7 and Year 9

    A Uniform Grant application form is available to collect from the School Finance Office.

    If a uniform grant is awarded to a parent, they will receive a voucher to use at our school uniform supplier, Skoolkit; no cash payment is given to parents. 

     

  • Trip Payments Due Soon

    YEAR 10 TITCHFIELD HAVEN – Tuesday 24th September 2019. Please ensure payments are received by the finance office by 3:30pm Monday 23rd September 2019. Payments can be made by cash, cheque or using our online payments system.

    YEAR 11 GRAPHICS TO MARWELL – Friday 4th October 2019. Please ensure payments for the trip are received by the finance office by 3:30pm Monday 30th September 2019. Payments can be made by cash, cheque or using our online payments system.

    SKI TRIP 2020 – The third instalment of £150 is due Monday 30th September 2019. Payments can be made by cash, cheque (made payable to “Upper Shirley High School”) or using our online payments system. If you are experiencing any difficulties with meeting the scheduled deadlines, please contact the finance team or the trip lead, Miss Suffling at the earliest opportunity.

    Please ensure all cheques are made payable to “Upper Shirley High School”.

     

  • European Boxing Champion

    You may have seen in the paper and on the local television news recently reports of the fantastic achievement of one of our students. Amber represented England in the European Schools Boxing Championships in Georgia . She had to compete in the 70kg weight category which required her to move up a weight therefore being at a disadvantage. In the quarter Finals she competed against an Italian. She had a standing count in the third round and won unanimously 5-0. The Semi Finals was against a Hungarian where she won again 5-0 then in the final continued to win with a split decision 4.1.

    Amber was unbeaten and managed to show her strength and superior fitness against all her opponents on the European Boxing stage. Congratulations Amber!

     

  • Boys Football First Fixtures 2019/20

    Year 7 Boys Football

    First game of the season against St George school. An excellent display from the team earned USH a 6-1 Victory, with goals from ARJUN P (3), MANU B (1), MARCEL H (1) and DAVID A (1).

     

    Year 11 Boys Football

    First game of the season in blistering heat, dry pitch and a depleted squad…..away….BUT in what is now becoming USH tradition, we managed to fix a team together and come away with a well fought victory against a determined Oasis Mayfield team.

    With goals from JAMES S, ARCHIE G and KENZIE M we secured a convincing 3-1 win. Debut for CALLUM W and Man of the Match performance from CAMERON Y.

  • Boxercise

    On Thursday, 16 Year 8 and 9 students were nominated to go to Richard Taunton to attend the first boxercise class of the term. Coach, Steve Barnes, was really impressed with the group of students, stating they gave ‘110%’. A special thanks to Fin O (Year 11) for his support in coaching the younger students. We look forward to returning in two weeks time.

    Mrs Rendall and Mrs Mahoney.