USH Newsletters

12th November 2019

  • Distinguished Police Officer Visits USH

    USH were delighted to welcome Dean Coady to Southampton for a Meet the Professional Event held at USH yesterday.  

    Prior to his retirement from the Police in October 2014,  Dean was one of the highest decorated officers in the United Kingdom, receiving numerous police and judges awards.  He was also presented with an ‘Unsung Hero’ Award in 2014, by the NWG (CSE specialist) and the Order of the British Empire, O.B.E in the Millenium Honors List.  Dean has researched and designed a series of unique interactive training packages for young learners and supporting Safeguarders, as well as parents and carers.  Each training strand endeavours to address some specific threats, risks and vulnerabilities facing children and young adults that live in our communities.  

    During the day Dean ran several workshops for some of our Year 10 students in PSHE.  His presentations were well received, informative and gave students a clear understanding of the current pressures of society and strategies of how to deal with them safely.

    The Meet the Professional event proved successful for the staff who attended, many of whom left with a range of practical tips to use to when supporting their students.

  • Children In Need

    Thank you to all of the staff and students for their kind donations for Children in Need last Friday. Many students brought in baked goods to be sold in the cake sale and many more volunteered to help sell the goodies.

    Combined with the non-school uniform donations, we are proud to announce £939 was raised.

  • Final Farewell to the Class of 2019

    Last week we hosted the GCSE Graduation Celebration Evening.  This provided one last time to see our students who left in the summer.  After a short presentation in which students were presented with their GCSE certificates, amidst a flurry of confetti - expertly guided by Mr Staples and Mr Hall, students, parents and staff mingled whilst enjoying a full buffet and drinks. 

    Although they only left us a matter of months ago the students have already grown up in so many ways and it was a delight to hear how they are all doing in their new settings.

    Well done Class of 2019 and good luck in your future plans.

  • Photography trip the Southampton Common for Year 9 students

    On the 14th and 21st November Year 9 Photography students braved the cold and damp to try out their newly learnt photography skills. Looking for interesting shots in nature they explored the bushes, pond and fallen tree trunks. These enthusiastic photographers noticed reflections in puddles, water droplets on leaves and tiny fungi growing on tree bark. Although the Common is familiar to them all, they saw it in a new light, through a camera lens.

     

  • Ordnance Survey Visit

    On Thursday 14th November a group of year 8 students visited the Ordnance Survey to take part in various activities. First students had a talk about how the OS produce maps and the different ways in which the maps are used for, from deciding where to locate a new housing development to knowing where important services are such as fire and police. Students then went outside to collect grid references using an app on their phones. Some were looking at where all the picnic benches were and others were looking at the location of security cameras. This data was then added to a spreadsheet and uploaded onto Digimaps, where the students could then see the location of findings. We talked about how we can use this back at school and students suggested to record any hotspots of litter so that we could add more bins or recycling points around the school. It was a really successful trip and the students involved used a variety of skills and all thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

    Mrs Hyslop

  • GCSE Film Studies Lighting Workshop at Solent University, Southampton

    Last week and the week before, our 2 Year 10 Film Studies cohorts took a trip to the Solent University, Southampton to take part in a workshop around the more technical elements of lighting within moving image i.e. film, an area that they will need to be able to show an in depth understanding of within their responses to the Film Studies exam papers.

    A huge thank you for the staff in the Film, Television and Sound Departments at the Solent University (in particular, Graeme Herwig, Technical Instructor, Solent University Southampton) for not only accommodating us, but providing us with a great session on how light is used for different effects throughout film with specific exploration of the film we are currently studying, Attack the Block (2011, Cornish), as well as allowing us to have a go at recreating some of the film’s effects ourselves using their impressive equipment. A huge thank you to Mr Hall, Mr Marsh and Mr Osment for supporting us with transport.

     

    Sarah O’Halloran, Subject Lead for Film

  • Empower Mentoring Sessions

    A group of 20 Year 9's are currently having the opportunity to attend mentoring sessions with students from Southampton University. The aim is to harness the students' interests and ambitions, and to gain support and advice on how to achieve and succeed both at USH and once they leave to pursue future endeavours. This includes how to handle stress, discussions on how to balance school life and extra curriculars, strategies for staying organised, and building a network between USH and Southampton University. 

    Thank you to Sophie Ford, Jordan Common and the mentors from Southampton Hub for providing a wealth of knowledge, advice, and experience for these students! 

    Mrs A Mahoney, Head of Year 9


  • Congratulations Zach

    Congratulations to Zach who has qualified to a Level 1 BTEC from his Cadets.   What a great achievement.

  • Maths Whizz Winners

    Congratulations to Dainton D, Maths Whizz winner for two weeks in a row!  Well done!

  • Success for USH Year 9 Netball Team

    The year 9 girl’s netball team have performed fantastically throughout the whole of the netball league, not losing a single match and winning by a minimum of 6 points difference in each game. The girls have worked amazingly as a team, and represented Upper Shirley High in the best possible light. Working together and motivating one another throughout each match, they have displayed fantastic attitudes towards one another and continuously supportied the opposition.”

  • Aspire

    In our first newsletter of this academic year we introduced 'The Peaks'.  Following our first data captures of Year 10 and 11 we are thrilled to announce the following students have made it into the Aspire group (they have the best attitude and the best progress:

    Year 11

    Year 10

    Firas B

    Colin A

    Dominic G

    Hugh B

    Liam A

    Eden H

    George B

    Zameer A

    Abigail H

    Freya B

    Kindah A

    Max H

    Emma B

    Brandon A

    Annabelle H

    Hannah B

    Jeylan A

    Gabriel K

    Jeorielle C

    Anna A

    Jagoda K

    Eve C

    Joshua A

    Ben L

    Ben F

    Jonny A

    Ivan L

    Sophie F

    Olivia A

    Sam L

    Chloe G

    Haadi A

    Alex M

    Waris H

    Charlie B

    Gergana M

    Sophia H

    Weronika B

    Oren M

    Ruby H

    Owen B

    Aaron M

    Bella H

    Mali B

    Kevin M

    Hannah J

    Tasia B

    Pavel M

    Ameena J

    Hugh B

    Kieran M

    Michael L

    Tomas B

    Aryal M

    Weronika L

    Oliwia C

    Jacob M

    Lidia M

    Sian C

    Ananya N

    Dylan M

    Jessica C

    Alfie N

    Ryan M

    Bonnie C

    Luke N

    Anna M

    Leila C

    Dasha N

    Charlotte M

    Elouise D

    Chloe O

    Byron M

    Joseph D

    Terumi P

    Jacob N

    Maddie F

    Barney P

    Evie O

    Evie F

    Crystal P

    Smit P

    Sam F

    Daniel R

    Anna P

    Lou F

    Daniel S

    Becky R

    Millie F

    Duncan S

    Ella R

    Kyle G

    Ela S

    Bank R

    Georgia G

    Szymon S

    Tia S

    Benjamin G

    Holly S

    Amaan S

    Kais G

    Alesha S

    Mia T

    Hollie G

    Karl W

    Eloise W

    Wiktoria G

    Eleanor W

    Eric W

    Rowan G

    Jack W

    Myleta W

    Lottie G

  • Finance News

    “Ski Trip 2020 – The fourth instalment of £150 is due Friday 29th November 2019.

    Battlefields 2020 – The remaining balance of £159 is due Monday 9th December 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 keeping in line with the scheduled payments, please do not hesitate to contact the trip lead or the Finance Team.”

     

  • Careers Communications

    Data Sharing

    Your son/daughter has been issued with a letter regarding the sharing of data with Solent University.  Please complete the slip at the bottom of the letter indicating whether or not you agree to the specified data being shared and return it to school as soon as possible.

    A copy of the letter can be found on the school website: Information – Letters & Forms – Whole School Letters

    Year 10 Mock Interviews

    The mock interviews have been rescheduled from December to January. They will take place on Wednesday 22nd, Monday 27th, Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th January.  If you would like to get involved; interviewing students and providing feedback or would like more information please contact Mrs Anderson.

    Apprenticeships – Key Facts

    ·         Apprenticeships are real jobs and you will earn a real wage

    ·         Apprenticeships are available to anyone over the age of 16, living in England and have no upper age limit

    ·         Apprenticeships have four levels, intermediate, advanced, higher and degree

    ·         An apprentice will spend 20% of their time off-the-job training

    ·         Up to 20,000 apprenticeship vacancies are advertised on Find an apprenticeship, the government portal

    For more information about apprenticeships, visit apprenticehips.gov.uk

  • Road Safety

    As you are aware we are working hard behind the scenes to improve the profile of road safety at USH, working with planners, developers and the City leaders to overcome the challenges of Bellemoor Road traffic.

    We have all been noticing the challenges to traffic and road safety immediately after school. As have members of our community.

    For around 10 mins after school the blind-bend on Bellemoor Road is becoming blocked with cars parked up and those attempting to pass.  Road safety is further compromised by students crossing on the bend and riding out of the school on bikes and scooters.

    At the end of the school day the school gates will be shut, students asked to walk bicycles out and for these reasons the leadership have decided that the older students are not permitted to ride mopeds to school.  We have taken this decision based on all the factors related to this issue.

    We are asking parents and carers to reinforce our message of road safety and please do not drop off and pick up on the Bellemoor bend.  Your co-operation and commitment to this is very much appreciated.

  • Rose Road Association Christmas Fayre

    The Rose Road Association are delighted to announce our annual, accessible Christmas Fayre on December 1st!

    With stalls, crafts and Santa’s Grotto, this is a great chance to grab a Christmas bargain with all proceeds supporting local families. The site has parking close to the building and our fully equipped changing rooms have hoists for full accessibility.