Friday 14th May 2021
The weather may have been miserable all week, but our students have been a real pleasure to teach and support through their assessments. Year 12’s have been doing some amazing work this week and it is truly wonderful to see and hear the range of talents and passion they have for their learning.
Working in a college environment is a true privilege, and we are so proud of how Year 13 have shown resilience and commitment to their final assessed work. Today marks the end of the formal window of the Year 13 assessments that supports the evidence for their Teacher Assessed grades. We want to congratulate each and every student in how they have supported each other and committed to doing the best they can.
A letter about the continued attendance for year 13’s until May half term has been sent separately to parents today. A general letter about changes in the Government roadmap for face coverings in college has been sent to all parents.
Best wishes,
Louise
Vice Principal
Mental Health Awareness Week – Nicola Miller, Designated Safeguarding Lead and SENDCo
Mental Health Awareness Week 2021
The theme for this year’s mental health awareness week is ‘Nature’. With increasing hours of daylight and more sunny days it is a great opportunity to go out and enjoy nature. The National Trust has published their research on Noticing Nature. Please see below 15 activities from the report that you may wish to try with your family this week. For the full report from the National Trust please go to https://nt.global.ssl.fastly.net/documents/noticing-nature-report-feb-2020.pdf?mc_cid=b4af0a6e6b&mc_eid=c7e3458e3a
STEM Faculty – Kirsty White, Faculty Lead
In lessons with Year 12s this week, teachers have been carrying out folder checks to help students identify gaps in learning and to celebrate all of the excellent work they’ve done over the last year. This is essential preparation for the end of Year 12 assessments in June and students have presented their notes with pride. In Psychology, I have been thoroughly impressed by the sheer amount of revision some of the students have done – a key component to doing well at A-Level is consistent revision. In addition to the revision students do (flash cards, mind-maps etc.), I would also advise them to engage in exam skill practice – a great way to prepare for an exam is to do it! Teachers can provide past paper questions or resources for students to access that help them apply what they’ve revised to the exam that will evidence what they know. This will really help students to understand what examiners are looking for and to hone those skills.
Humanities Faculty – Catherine Pennington – Teacher of Business and Economics
Catherine Pennington challenged her A Level Business students to create Mocktails as inspired by The Cosy Club. The students had been looking at how businesses have adapted through the pandemic, in particular the hospitality industry. The Cosy Club diversified and launched online Mocktail courses for small groups, so the students looked into what it takes to become a Barista and a Mixologist. In a follow up practical class there were some very tasty mixes being served by the students. Catherine served up Lattes to some of her students and role played some customer service scenarios. Great fun learning. Below are some of the beautiful creations from the session.
Creative Faculty – Luke Muchmore – Teacher of Sport and Health and Social Care
In year 12 sport, students have been getting outside a lot and taking part in regular practical sessions three times a week to help boost activity levels and mental health after the most recent lockdown. The onus has been on the students to get outside of their own comfort zones and build their own confidence and leadership skills as part of the sports coaching unit. All students are planning and delivering three coaching and activity sessions for their peers, so far we have been very impressed with what we have seen!
In class, we are progressing with sports psychology, having looked at personality and motivation within sport, we now are moving on to stress and anxiety in sport and exercise. This ties in nicely with mental health awareness week as we will begin to look at stress and anxiety management techniques for athletes, these will be valuable skills that the students can use in their own sporting performance and personal lives.
Careers – Rosie Roberts, Careers Lead
Swindon and Wiltshire Careers Hub have an upcoming careers event for students and their parents on the 26th May 2021 – Your Choices (Post 16 and 18 options) as a Learn Live Broadcast. The Careers Hub will be broadcasting between 11-2pm during the day for schools/college to access and 5-7pm for parental/carer engagement.
It will be a fantastic opportunity for students and/or parents, carers, teachers etc to engage with a range of learning opportunities available to them. This will include academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities, training providers and local workplaces on a digital platform.
There is a timetable of broadcasts throughout the event which will be advertised closer to the event. The time slots are up to 5 minutes per institution, allowing time for a short presentation with additional and longer videos added On Demand from various partners and stakeholders, you can also take advantage of the LIVE CHAT features on the Learn Live Channel to ask any questions to the providers. The event will run on a one hour loop so students can watch it in different lessons if this suits your needs, the same will happen during the twilight session.
Please register here: https://learnliveuk.com/your-choices-event/
Introducing the MLP CAREERS Instagram account.
Find out about careers events going on in College and across the Magna Learning Partnership.
Plus, don’t be the last to know about other exciting careers events and initiatives taking place across Salisbury, Wiltshire and the whole of the UK.
This may include:
- Apprenticeship / job opportunities
- Work experience placements
- Free online courses for all ages
- Talks and workshops happening online and in person
- Advice about all aspects of education, training and employment
We recommend that all students are following this new account and welcome parents to follow it too. Download the Instagram app if you don’t already have it and add MLPcareers to your favourites
