Icknield High School Newsletter December 2015 Another Year Draws to a Close

Safeguarding and e-safety

It hardly seems like five minutes ago since we started back in September and yet here we are and another term has raced by. As always it has been an incredibly busy one and as the government changes begin to bite, a difficult one.

As technology and internet sites became more advanced and accessible, more and more of our students are finding themselves getting involved in cyber-bullying and inappropriate use of technology, including threatening behaviour and sexually explicit pictures.

The funding of schools continues to be of concern to all schools going into the future and that includes ourselves. We have always endeavoured to maintain a very tight hold on our finances and provide the type of education which we know can deliver the right education to our students but this is coming under increasing threat.

As parents you need to know how your children are using the internet, their exposure to sexual content and sharing information online. There are some excellent websites to help parents understand more about keeping their children safe. www.ThinkyouKnow.co.uk and www The Government’s insistence on an all but compulsory nspcc.org.uk English Baccalaureate (English, Maths, Two Sciences, a We have a useful link to the CEOP site to Modern Foreign Language and a Humanity - Geography or report inappropriate online activities on History) is problematic as whilst we would applaud the our website or you can go directly to decision to ‘remove’ certain qualifications, others allow our www.ceop.police.uk. students to flourish and achieve, the Arts being the most but by means the only, notable exception. To ignore We are working hard in school to educate our students within an examination regime the initial stimulus and as to the online risks and how to stay safe. We have interest for what is a multi-billion pound industry seems PSHE lessons, assemblies and tutor activities to raise ludicrous. awareness of the dangers of online abuse. On more mundane matters, the School is in the process of appealing against a Highways decision to create a very limited number of car parking spaces directly out side of the School. Whilst I know a very limited number may support this, we believe the creation of such places will cause chaos and make Riddy Lane even more unsafe for our students than it already is. We would continue to urge parents to encourage their children to walk to school or cycle as if they live in the area then they should be able to do both. Finally, the School took the decision to cancel a trip to France following the recent atrocities which occurred there. This was taken on the grounds of health and safety in respect of both the travelling pupils and also the staff.

Before I forget, may I thank all the staff for covering me in my absence and hopefully – without tempting fate – I will be back by the time you read this Newsletter. May I wish you all the compliments of the season and I look forward to another busy and exciting year in 2016 Mr C Dean Headteacher

Please talk to your child about this and look at the websites above.

Reminder Road Safety – road safety outside the school in an ongoing issue. We have had two students knocked over this term crossing the road, neither incident was the drivers fault. It is paramount that students take care when crossing the road. Skinny Trousers /Uniform – we have had to remind students and their parents on too many occasions to adhere to the school uniform policy. This can be found on the school website and in the student planner on page 8 & 9. As parents you agreed to providing your children with the correct uniform when you accepted a place at Icknield. Please ensure that your child is in the correct uniform on the 1st day back after the Christmas holiday otherwise they will be sent home. Mrs J Knighton Deputy Headteacher

Dates for your diary Term Dates 2016 2016

2016

Inset Term begins Half Term Term ends Inset Term begins Half term Term ends

Monday 4th January Tuesday 5th January Monday 15th February Thursday 24th March Monday 11th April Tuesday 12th April Monday 30th May Thursday 21st July

Inset Thursday 1st September Inset Friday 2nd September Autumn Term Monday 5th September begins (whole school) Inset Friday 21st October Half Term Monday 24th October Term end Tuesday 20th December

January 2016 4 INSET 5 Spring term begins 14 Yr 11 Parents’ Consultation Evening 29 School Photographer in School Catch-ups February 2 3 9-12 11 15-19 24 25 29

Yr 9 Parents’ Consultation Evening Yr 10 DTP & Men C Vaccination 20 Yr 10 to Costa Brava on Geography trip Yr 11 English & Maths Achievement Evening starting at 5.30pm Half Term Yr 8 Options Assembly Yr 8 Parents’ Consultation Evening 13 x Yr 9 & 10 on RE trip to New York returns 4.3.16

March 1 7-11 10 11 14-18 15-18 16 24

Yr 8 Options Fayre Yr 11 Visual Art Exams all week Yr 8 Options form deadline Yr 11 PE Practical exam Yr 11 PE Practical exams Yrs 8 & 9 Geography trip to Iceland 70 x Yr 10 Reward trip to Planet Ice 3.30—7.30pm End of Term—Collapsed Day

Examination Invigilators We are looking to expand our pool of examination invigilators. You will be responsible for ensuring the examinations held at Icknield High School are run to strict regulations. Employment will be on a casual basis with remuneration based on Local Government Services hourly rates. Full ongoing training is provided. Icknield High School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of students and expects all staff to share this commitment. All applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening. For further information, please contact our Examinations Manager, Lesley Owens, on 01582 575232 or email [email protected]

IMPORTANT REMINDERS From the First Aid Officer If your child is Asthmatic, please ensure that they carry their own inhaler whilst in school. We would also recommend that a spare, clearly labelled and boxed inhaler is given to the Medical Room. Children with Anaphylaxis must carry their own Epipen at all times and a spare pen MUST be given to the Medical Room in case of emergency. May I politely remind all parents that for reasons of infection control, students who have suffered with vomiting or diarrhoea must remain off school until they are symptom free for 24 hours. From Student Reception Students MUST have prior, written permission from home in the form of a letter/appointment card or note in their Organisers, BEFORE they try to sign out. Phone call requests from home cannot be actioned, unless the appointment is an emergency. When PE, homework, ingredients etc are dropped off by parents we cannot guarantee to deliver them to your child in time for their lesson. Please encourage them to ensure they have everything they need for the school day. Parents are reminded NOT to drop students off in the car park in the mornings or collect after school. Please ensure all uniform and PE kits are clearly marked with your child’s name

ART

Art Trip to London – Year 11 Talented Art students from year 11 visited London at the end of November. The students looked made drawings and took photographs for their GCSE coursework projects. They looked at the architecture of St Paul’s Cathedral, Covent Garden Market and the Millenium Bridge; Artwork in the Tate Modern Gallery, Purdy Hicks Gallery and the National Gallery as well as Street art in the endangered Southbank Skatepark! The students got a lot out of the visit and their creativity and maturity made them a credit to the school! Mr Neill and Miss Fisher Photographs by Cassia Clarke

LANGUAGES Every year the language department arrange a foreign exchange with schools across France with pen pals project, e-twinning and school visit. We have had in the past schools from Bordeaux, Marseille, various schools from Brest and Argenteuil. This year we teamed up with Saint Adrien School 5 miles away from Lille. The best private school in Villeneuve d’Ascq with more than 1450 pupils on three sites. Icknield students taking French in Year 7 and Year 8 have been exchanging letters with their French pen pals before our planned trip to Lille on 8-11 December 2015. The trip unfortunately had to be cancelled due to recent event in France. It goes without saying students who had paid to go to France to meet their pen pals were very disappointed as were the French students. However our students will carry on writing to their pen pals and hopefully we can arrange an exchange in the future. Mr C Seanla

DUKE OF EDINBURGH Following a visit to St James Palace in London to celebrate young people achieving their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award, and receiving our Licence from the Duke of Edinburgh, Denise Lewis and Phil Brown, it is with great excitement we can announce that we are now Licensed to run the Duke of Edinburgh here at Icknield. We will be offering students in Year 9 the opportunity to enrol to complete their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh in the New Year, with the hope that they will be able to go on and achieve Silver in year 10. This is a very exciting time as we now have control over the award and are able to run it independently within the school. The award itself consists of four sections; volunteering, physical, skill and an expedition. It is a fantastic opportunity for young people and we look forward to re-launching it at Icknield very soon. Miss Moffat

SCHOOL PRODUCTION "Late last academic year saw the auditions for this years school show. A little over 40 students stood in front of the panel and showcased their skills. That started the journey and on the 18th, 19th and 20th of November saw the wonderful conclusion of their hard work. Without exception every cast member gave all they had to offer to deliver a polished, well executed and funny performance of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Following the love life of three couples and the fairies, potions and parents that do their best to test, disrupt and trouble the path of love." Mr Woodfield—Acting Head of Drama

STUDENT VOICE Student Voice has continued to grow this year with new head of Student Voice Patricia Nsimbi . There are now over 100 students involved in 10 different teams ranging from Charity to peer mentoring. Each team has captains who have been working hard to run weekly meetings and channelling ideas to come up with new initiatives and projects to help enhance quality of life at Icknield. A couple of projects and events which have run this year so far are: The switch off hour – This was run by the Eco – Team and Captain Aniqa Wagar, who highlighted that too much energy was being used wastefully within the school. The hour included turning lights, projectors and computers off in as many classrooms as possible. To help get students involved and raise money for eco friendly resources a glow stick and raffle ticket sale was put on. One lucky year 8, Sidrah Shaheen was the winner of the chocolate Hamper. Well done Sidrah and well done to the Eco –Team on a successful switch off event.

SCIENCE Visit to CERN – 21st-24th October 2015 Dr Chaudri, Mrs Warren and I accompanied 21 Year 11 students on the trip to CERN in October. The visit was again a great success. CERN is such an inspiring place to visit as it gives students the chance to see what science can achieve when people work together. They also get to meet and speak to real scientists who are working on experiments at the cutting edge of science – and experiments don’t get much more cutting edge than the Large Hadron Collider! One of the highlights of this years’ visit was the chance to attend S’Cool Lab - we are one of the first schools in the UK to do so. This is a hands-on workshop where students were able to carry out experiments we don’t have the opportunity to do in school.

Sandal Butt, Samaha Shan, Natasha Newton, Amit Vij, Adel Shah, Husam Rashid, Jamal Mohammed, Tazim Hoque, Bilal Akbar, Hassan Ali, Sana Hassan, James Wildman, Jack Dudley, Daniel Watt, Zarah Isong, Maqdus Iqbal, Jemma Candy, Hamir Harbham, Ummar Hussain, Sacha Aptakare-Davis and Usamah Ahmed

PE On Tuesday 17th November the PE department took 40 students to Wembley Stadium to watch England v France for our first rewards trip of the year. Following on from the tragedy in Paris the previous Friday, it proved to be a very emotional evening for all involved. Year 7 student Marcel Tavoda explained “On the way to the ground we could see the arch was lit up with the colours of the French flag. When we got to our seats, there were lots of soldiers who were marching around the ground in their national uniforms. They walked onto the pitch and held out the flags of England and France. The crowd behind the goal held up coloured posters which made the French flag too”. The minutes silence was impeccably observed by all in the ground, and there was a show of solidarity as the players linked arms before the whole crowd sang both national anthems. The game was excellent and ended up in a 2-0 win for England; most importantly the students were a real credit to the school and everybody really enjoyed the experience. Icknield Boccia Go One Better On a balmy October morning Luton’s Boccia elite met to battle it out for the coveted label of Town Champion, with Icknield looking to improve on their silver medal from last year. 5 teams met with late drop outs from Lea Manor and Woodlands but this did nothing to reduce the focus of our super 6. With a rocky pool stages it was looking like it was going to be the favourites Stopsley that would take the spoils and progress through the semis however both Icknield teams overcame disappointing losses to make it an all Icknield final. After a tense 6 frames the team of Adam, Owen and Humzah came out on top so congratulations to them on their gold. Girls Football Luton Town FC coach Mathew has been in every Thursday since September promoting girl’s football at Icknield. This has been a success with lots of girls from all year groups coming along and learning new skills. We hope to maintain this partnership with Luton Town and continue to increase the participation levels of girls football here at Icknield. Miss Doyle

Year 9 Boys Basketball The Year 9 basketball team took part in the town tournament buzzing with exciting, ready to shoot some hoops and dominate the boards. Their intentions were awesome and effort levels were tremendous throughout. Unfortunately the hoops didn’t always go our way and the boards proved to be real battleground which was fought out by all the teams played. Captain Jai Patel, Taaseen ‘Lebron’ Choudhury and L’Karmi ‘Stefan’ Gale worked their socks off to dominate the Aerial battles. Meanwhile, Hamzah Akhtar, Zaid Mohmend, Zafran Qureshi, Hashim Janjua and Jack Miller were the work horses, getting around the court to great effect. The boys came up against some well drilled teams and at times felt slightly vertically challenged against some of the opposition. However, they fought well, created excellent chances (some of which were taken) and above all, played as a team and never gave up. Who can ask for more than that?! Despite being physically shattered they still managed to smile for your all. Here they are: Mr Yirrell

MATHS

MATHEMATICS

I am writing to inform you of the resources we have in the Mathematics department that your child can access at home. Many parents and carers already make use of these sites in order to support their child to reinforce and develop what has been taught in class. In order for students to be successful in Mathematics it is crucial that students practise key skills and techniques learnt during lessons and extend these at home. Our successful results from the ex-year 11’s last year prove that extensive use of these online platforms at home contributed to higher attainment. MathsWatch Online In recent years, many of our students have purchased and successfully used the MathsWatch CD as a resource for home study and exam revision. The package consists of short video clips accompanied by practise questions organised by topic or level of difficulty. A large number of previous Year 11 students have told me that they felt their use of the CD as part of a revision programme prior to exams has boosted them up a whole grade or more. I am happy to let you know that the package is now available for all Icknield High School students at no cost to you! This fantastic resource provides a short video clip that goes through each concept in a similar manner to that done in school, as well as having a worksheet to download that can be used to rehearse the skill. It covers areas of maths relevant to students from Year 7 up to Year 11 and provides an approach for students to revise for tests, catch up on a lesson or as part of preparation for assessments and exams. To use the website you need to access this link www.mathswatchvle.com. Your child has already been issued with the login details by their class teacher but this can be reissued if they have lost their details. This is also available to download as an app on any smartphone or tablet device from iTunes or Google Play. School VLE Exam Resources for Year 11 The Mathematics section of the school’s VLE is very well used by many students to help them reinforce the work they have done in class and to allow them the necessary practise to make use of the exam papers and questions. There are many links to a number of resources that offer opportunities for this valuable reinforcement. Please encourage your child to access these through the school website www.icknield.beds.sch.uk and clicking on the Curriculum tab on the left hand side of the page and then scrolling to Maths Exam Revision on the right hand of the school’s website and entering the same login details they use to access the schools computer. Your child has already been issued with the login details but can be reissued if they have lost their details. They will need to go to the ICT base room and ask Mrs Drennan. MyMaths As a whole school, we have also subscribed to MyMaths as it comes highly recommended to improve standards of achievement. MyMaths offers a fully interactive, online learning platform for all ages and abilities. The username and password to access the website’s resources and activities is icknield. Everyone can enjoy 24hour access whether at school, at home or even on holiday. Each student should have been provided with login details to access this resource at www.mymaths.co.uk. If your child has forgotten/lost their details they can be re issued with new ones from the Maths base room by asking Mrs Gillespie. GCSE Maths Online GCSE Mathematics Online is our brand new tablet-friendly interactive teaching and learning subscription service. As well as a digital version of both Foundation and Higher Student Books, GCSE Mathematics Online includes lessons, tasks, questions, quizzes, widgets and games to support students. Our whole school subscription includes unlimited access to this suite of flexible resources and covers both Foundation and Higher tiers. With support for independent learning, GCSE Mathematics Online features:  interactive widgets to visually demonstrate concepts  worksheets offering practical activities, discussion points, investigations, games and further practice  walk-throughs that take students through a question step-by-step, with feedback  quick-fire quizzes with leader boards providing an opportunity for question practice  levelled questions that assess understanding of the topic  covers both Foundation and Higher, offering flexibility for moving students between tiers  resources organised into chapters corresponding to the Student Books, with explanatory notes for all topics To access this website they need to go to www.gcsemaths.cambridge.org and enter their login details. Your child has already been issued with the login details but these can be reissued if they have lost their details. They will need to go to the Maths base room and ask Mrs Gillespie. Mr K. Ali—Curriculum Leader Mathematics

LITERACY NEWS This half term has been busy getting this year’s literacy provision up and running. Currently, in morning registration tutor groups have new book boxes so tutor groups can read together. We also have a small group of Year 7s taking part in a paired reading project with excellent readers from Year 10. For those struggling with handwriting in Year 7, there are handwriting workshops in the LRC. Year 7 have also taken part in the Roald Dahl book design competition to celebrate Roald Dahl Day and the winner was Anika Ahmed from YBC. Also, the Literacy student voice group has delivered a Year 9 assembly about the importance of reading and favourite books as well as running a book quiz competition. The winners were RAA! Well done to all who took part. If you do have any concerns regarding your child’s literacy skills please contact Miss Dorban on the school number 01582 576561 or [email protected]

Accelerated Reader (AR) Parent Information It was lovely to see so many parents at the Parent/Tutor evenings at the end of November. Hopefully the information you received about AR was useful and you will be able to support your child with their reading. Please follow the advice in the information leaflet. All parents in Year 7 and 8 and most Year 9 students use AR. For those parents with students in these year groups, you will have received a Renaissance Home Connect letter from their Form Tutor. Icknield uses the Accelerated Reader computer program to help teachers to monitor student’s independent reading practice. The Renaissance Home Connect letter you received informs you how to log on to the system so that you can see how well your child is doing with their reading tests. Should you need a copy of either the information leaflet or Renaissance Home Connect letter, students can ask for copies from either Miss Dorban (Literacy Co-ordinator) or Mrs Fry (Accelerated Reader Co-ordinator). Learning Resource Centre (LRC) The LRC opened its doors mid September and has been a widely used facility for both students and staff. We have extended our opening times to 8am – 5pm to allow students to optimise the space for their studies or for reading. Aside from an ever growing collection of fiction and non-fiction books, we have 31 computers and a printing facility, newspapers and a selection of board games and equipment such as colouring pens, rulers, sharpeners and lots more to aid with homework while working in the LRC.          

Computers Printing facility Wide range of fiction and non-fiction books Magazines Board games Newspapers Revision guides Comfortable seating for quiet reading Large work desk for study Clean, modern and fresh environment to work in

YELLOW TIE NEWS YEAR 7

I would first of all like to congratulate the Year 7’s on their excellent start to life at Icknield High School. The majority of the students have settled in well to their Tutor Groups and are working extremely well in lessons. This is evident by the high numbers of 5’s the students are collecting each week and the number of students we have visiting the Year Room each day to drop off reward points and collect badges and reward flashes. I would particularly like to congratulate Usmaan Afzal, Mohammad Jawad Alam, Hannah Bukedde, Tahmid Choudhury, Tamim Chowdhury, Benish Farid, Jannat Hafeez, Laraib Ishaq, Mariya Ismail, Saqib Ali, Ummeh Khan, Zaynab Khan, Mohammad Yahya Malik, Imaad Nazir, Amy Parry, Amina Rehman, Mehtaab Rehman, Marcel Tavoda, Isaac Tompkins and Khushi Vij, who are leading the Year Group with the most reward points so far. Finally, on behalf of all of us in the Year Room, I would like to wish the Year 7 students and their families a very relaxing Christmas break and I look forward to seeing the Yellow Ties ready for another hard working term in January.

STUDENT SUCCESS

FORM CHAMPIONS We had a very successful Teambuilding Day in October which kick started our Form Champions competition for this year. The current holders are YBE, seen below, who won the trophy for the most points achieved on that day. The students are currently competing to collect items for the Luton Foodbank and the trophy will be awarded in January to the Form who has collected the most.

Congratulations to our first published authors in Year 7. George Bird (YAC), Benjamin Effeyota (YBC) and Haris Waseem (YBA) who had poems published just last month in the ‘Out of this World – Reach for the Stars’ book of poetry.

REMINDER Please note that school trousers should be grey and loose fitting on the leg, also that trainers are not acceptable footwear for school. See you on 5th January. Best wishes from Mrs Rankin, Mrs Beckett, Mrs Siriboe, & Mrs Abbas BLUE TIES Congratulations to the 47 Year 8 pupils who completed their ASSIST training on Thursday 10th December.. They have dedicated a significant amount of time during this term to learn the skills required to be a successful peer mentor. Their aim now is to use their new skills to try and prevent more young people and adults from taking up smoking. Well done to BAS who have won ‘Tutor Group of the Week’ for the last weeks running.. BAS amassed a fantastic 370 excellent behaviour marks last week. Year 8 begin the GCSE options process next term. Please make a note of the following key dates: Tuesday 1st March 2016 - Year 8 Options Fayre Thursday 10th March 2016—Options Forms to be completed and returned to school. Pupils will also be given support and advice during the options process to encourage them to make the right choices about which subjects they choose to follow at GCSE. Finally, the Year 8 team would like to thank all parents and carers for their continued support over the past term. We hope that you all enjoy the festive break and look forward to a successful and rewarding New Year. Mr A Hince—Pastoral Leader Year 8 Mrs Hill Pastoral Support Officer

Red Tie News

The Red Ties have made a fantastic start to year 9 and have risen to the challenge of their new GCSE courses. Students have been busy collecting 5’s and Reward Points to receive an invitation to first rewards trip of the year which took place a couple of weeks ago. Bowling and desserts were enjoyed by all. The following students have made an exceptional start to the year: Lily Capo (RAA), Sufia Begum (RAC), Mishal Mahmood (RAR), Haleemah Khayer (RBC), Hasan Abbas (RBR) ans Jai Patel (RBE) . The Reds now need to focus on collecting more 5’s for our next trip to Delta Force Paintballing in the Spring term.

Looking forward to January and New Year’s Resolutions – I would like to see the Red Ties paying more attention to homework deadlines. Our new LRC is now open 8am-5pm and also stocks all the resources students will need to complete their work. Congratulations to all on a fantastic start to the year and on behalf of myself and Ms. Khan we would like to wish you a wonderful Christmas break and look forward to seeing you all in 2016.

Mrs S. Ahearn – Pastoral Leader Year 9 & Mrs Khan Pastoral Support officer

NOT

PARENTS ARE ALLOWED ON SITE TO DROP OR COLLECT THEIR CHILDREN

GREEN TIE NEWS

Skills Show 2015 On Friday 20th November, 230 eager year 10 students left Icknield at 8.30 am to be part of the nation’s largest skills and careers event at the NEC in Birmingham, a show which aims to help shape the future of a new generation. The skills show attracted over 75,000 keen visitors who were looking to seek professional advice on further education, training experiences and careers under one roof. The show which featured hundreds of different industries covered 68,000 meters squared, an area equal to 12 football pitches. There were many practical, hands on experiences on offer to inspire the students to explore the skills needed for many careers. These included hospitality, plumbing and web design. The students had an opportunity to meet top employers such as Jaguar Land Rover and the BBC, listen to motivational speakers and receive up to date information on routes into vocational careers. Some of the Green Tie students shared their experience; At the Skills show I learnt about engineering and the type of engineer I want to be. It was also fun and useful. Sam Campbell In my personal opinion the trip was very useful I found lots of good jobs such as welding. When we reached the destination we found a lot of useful jobs that interested us a lot and so this has helped us have an understanding of jobs in the world and we can take a lot from this and so this trip was very useful. Oliver Hogan At the Skills Show I learnt about what an apprenticeship is. Ridwan Ali The skills show was amazing. There were lots of things to experience and plenty of things for us students to take part in, which gave us a real insight in the jobs and careers available for us. There was a huge variety of activities to take part in all around the venue. The skills show has definitely helped to make a decision with what career I want to persue when I am older. Overall, I believe that it was a really good and fun opportunity and would highly recommend it to other years. Mira Gandhi The exhibition had been split into sections, so that we could easily find what sort of profession we wanted to find more about. In addition to being able to explore, large competitions were taking place as we walked around, giving us an idea of what working conditions, job roles and time pressures we could be faced with. I enjoyed looking around the skills show because it was definitely an eye opener as to what sort of profession I wanted, where I needed to go to university to ensure that I got there and even what sorts of jobs I could be faced with. On behalf of the Green Ties, I would like to say a big thank you to all the staff who came with us on the day and also to our year room staff Mrs Akhtar and Mrs McCabe for organising the trip to the skills show. Parisha Mistry The trip was a worthwhile and valuable experience for everyone, including the teachers as the information available was current and delivered by professionals. Year 10 ‘Maximise- Reach your potential Seminars’ On Wednesday 25th November 90 Year 10 students took part in the Maximize – Reach your potential seminars in the school hall. The seminars had been specifically designed for Year 10 students, helping them to adjust to the demands of this crucial year as they embark on their GCSE’S. The seminars focused on the importance of the next two years, doing the best you can, reaching your potential and chasing your dreams. There was helpful exam tips and revision techniques that the students can now put into practice as well as a fun memory game. Malaika Kiragu said; 'The Maximize experience was very motivational and it helped to put my mind straight and focused on succeeding'. Madiah Zamir said; 'I thought that the Maximize programme was really helpful to people who struggle to revise. Also I thought the teacher gave us confidence on how we can be able to get anything we want if we try'. The students involved were a credit to the school with the seminar leader leaving us this feedback after his visit to the school. ‘I thoroughly enjoyed working with both groups. I thought their focus and willingness to contribute was excellent and hope they recognised the value of the topics covered, and will feel a lasting benefit as they progress through this year and next. It was very rewarding that so many came and thanked me personally at the end of their session.

Year 11

I would like to congratulate the Silver Tie Students on making a very positive start to Year 11 and completing a successful first term. They have had to really hit the ground running this year with the lead up to the mocks alongside all of the controlled assessments needing completion. In the first few weeks of this term maturity began to settle across most of the Year group as they focussed on their GCSE courses. This was highlighted by most of the year group collecting enough 5’s in order to attend this year’s first and sadly their final reward trip which was to Thorpe Park. We had an excellent day and it truly was a ‘fright night’ for many of them. I would particularly like to congratulate the 214 students who have already collected over 400 5’s and will now be wearing their silver bee with pride; the 178 students who have gained 600 5’s and are now wearing their Gold bee badge; and also the following students who are leading the Year Group with the most 5’s collected so far:- Dhara Nakum (715) and Nosheen Mostofa shah (713) who will be the first students to ever receive one of the highly sort after silver bee tie clips. A massive well done to all the students making an effort to collect 5’s and are working towards the success of the Silver Tie Team. With the prom to start thinking about, prom fundraising started brilliantly with lots of money being raised in the first few weeks of term. Unfortunately with all the other pressures fund raising has waned and students haven’t continued their brilliant start through the rest of term leaving us a little short for ideas for a budget prom. This year we have also added another incentive for pupils in Prom Stars. These are awarded when a students attends an extra-curricular activity for an hour, whether its revision, intervention or clubs. The pupils will need to collect 30 prom stars to attend prom and each star will be entered into a raffle for an iPad and Beats headphones. Finally I would like to congratulate all those students who have been involved in extracurricular activities; The football and rugby teams have moved from strength to strength this year with some recent fantastic performances; The musicians for putting on an excellent concert once again; and the actors who put on an amazing production of Shakespeare’s ‘A midsummer night’s dream’; this shows that Silver Tie students are committed to success in all areas of school life. I sincerely hope that this positive start will continue and that the Silver Tie students go from strength to strength throughout Year 11. May I wish you and your families a wonderful Christmas break and I look forward to seeing you all in the New Year ready for the final stretch. Mr D. Chopra Pastoral Leader Year 11 & Mrs Nicholson Pastoral Support Officer

Information for Parents of Year 11 College applications for Silver Ties 2015 - 16 Applications to Luton Sixth Form College and Barnfield College start in early January 2016. Students will get an application form for Luton Sixth Form College and Barnfield College from their tutor in the first week after the Christmas break. Deadline for completing applications to Luton Sixth Form College and Barnfield College Completed application forms must be handed in to Sonya Le Marie, Careers Co-ordinator, in school by Friday 29th January 2016. The Careers Co-ordinator then adds the student’s estimated grades and school reference. The application forms are collected from the school by a representative from Luton Sixth Form College and Barnfield College.

Other colleges and sixth forms have their own application procedure. Contact the individual schools for information about how to apply or call Sonya Le Marie, Careers Co-ordinator on 01582-576561. There is a list of schools and colleges and school sixth forms in and around Luton on the school website under “Students at Icknield”. Students can apply to as many colleges/school sixth forms as they wish, before making a final choice in August 2016, after they have received their GCSE results. Most colleges and schools have comprehensive information on their websites. The best way to start researching the options is to look at the college/school websites to find out about the subjects and different types of course offered and the application procedure. Apprenticeships (training with pay in the work place and part-time study) This is an alternative to full-time college and there is now a large national database of apprenticeship vacancies. The apprenticeship website is: www.apprenticeships.org.uk Start searching the website for apprenticeship vacancies in Nov/Dec 2015. ONLINE TOOLS TO HELP STUDENTS AND PARENTS: National Careers Service - https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk The National Careers Service website provides careers advice and information on a wide range of jobs, training course resources and funding. Careers advice: Job profiles, CV Builder, Career tools, Courses and Learning, Skills health check tools UCAS Progress – www.ucas.com/Progress - Lots of information to help 16-year-old school leavers and their parents. New Kudos is an online interest guide. Students can use this site to explore career ideas linked to their interests, likes and dislikes. It also shows details about many different careers including pay, qualifications needed, relevant GCSE and AS/A Level subjects and university courses. Most students and parents find this site extremely interesting and helpful. Go to www.cascaid.co.uk/newkudos Create your own login by following the instructions below:

1. Click on red Use button on the right hand side. 2. Under Not signed up yet – type into the licence code box carepaws27 and click on sign up. 3. You can now create your own log-in. Choose your own username and password and make sure 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

you write this information down and keep it safe. Only add your email address if you think you might forget your username and password. Add your first name and then second name. Where it says Group, click on the drop down arrow and select No group. Tick in the box I agree to CASCAiD’s Terms and Conditions of Use You are now ready to start exploring!

Careersbox: www.careersbox.co.uk The national online careers film and video library. Real people, real jobs to help young people, students teachers, career professionals and other influencers. Best Course 4 Me – www.bestcourse4me.com This site tells you which university courses AS/A Level subjects can lead to.

Parental Guidance – http://www.parentalguidance.org.uk. This site supports parents to gain