Friday 4th March 2022
Dear Parents/ Carers
This week has seen the start of the year 13 Mock Exam week, with exams taking place in the Theatre and Dance Studio. Students have worked well and all students have been respectful of others by conducting themselves in a quiet and mature manner around the building, which of course we would expect nothing less from our young people. So thank you to everyone for that.
Today we very sadly said goodbye to Gary Kinsey, our Data Manager, who is retiring. Gary has been with the college since its inception 8 years ago, and has worked tremendously hard in many roles during the set up and then the smooth running of the college thereafter. He will be greatly missed, but we will wish him well for his retirement. Gary’s replacement is Joanne Thompson, who has come to us after previously working at South Wilts Grammar schools as a Data Manager, so we wish her a warm welcome to the S6C support staff team.
March is a busy month for Careers events within the College, please see the section below for some important key dates.
You will have seen earlier in the week a letter regarding the support for the Humanitarian needs for people in Ukraine. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every member of the college community for their donations and contributions to this cause. We continue to send our thoughts and prayers to those dealing with this terrible ordeal.
Finally, I wanted to explore again with our parental community the opportunity to join our Governing Body. We are keen to expand our Governing Body, who work hard to support the college. If you feel you could commit some time periodically to visit the college, discuss the progress we are making and join our Academy Governance Committee for a termly evening meeting then we would love to hear from you. If you are interested, please contact Carina Sawyer, MLP Head of Governance, (csawyer@magnalearningpartnership.org.uk) for an application form, or to find out more about the role and the appointment process.
I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Best Wishes
Louise
Humanitarian support from the S6C Community
Thank you from all at S6C for your contribution
Careers
Rosie Roberts, Careers and School Liaison Lead
National Careers Week 7-12 March 2022
National Careers Week (NCW) is a celebration of careers guidance and free resources in education across the UK. The aim is to provide a focus for careers guidance activity at an important stage in the academic calendar to help support our young people leaving education.
Students will have the opportunity in lessons to discuss careers related to their current learning and find labour market information using the following websites:
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/job-sectors
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-careers
Parents are also welcome to explore the online resources from National Careers Week and details of the virtual information fair here: https://nationalcareersweek.com/ as well as exploring the careers links we have on our website here: https://www.salisbury6c.ac.uk/students/careers/
Parents’ Guide to National Careers Week can be found here:
Upcoming dates for all of Year 12 were circulated this week.
We are really pleased to get back to our programme of in-person speakers and events, in addition to your usual Life Skills tutor sessions. These will be compulsory for all students in the year group and students must be present.
16th March (in the Careers Passport slot) will be a talk from NCS for the full year group, about their summer programme.
23rd March Life Skills will be a speaker talking to students about next steps, getting the most out of the Careers Fair, and how to get the most out of university Open Days.
30th March students have a talk (in the Careers Passport slot) from The Halo Trust, arranged by Speakers for Schools, about this famous landmine clearance project.
7th April the whole year group will go to the Careers Fair in Winchester. The cost of this is already covered from the student enrolment and further details will follow separately.
Amazing Applications
The Swindon and Wiltshire Careers Hub is hosting a Learn Live ‘Amazing Applications broadcast during National Careers Week on the 9th March 2022. 11-2pm and 6-7pm on replay every hour. Once you have registered, you can watch the hour-long broadcast, or individual videos, on demand anytime for 12 months after the live broadcast date.
During this broadcast we would like to use this opportunity as a learning experience for students, teachers and parents/carers. There will be downloadable resources and employers will be on hand to answer any questions. Please register: https://learnliveuk.com/amazing-applications
The ‘Amazing Applications’ broadcast will involve showcasing the various routes of recruitment processes and employment. The aim is to ensure that participating students understand the various methods of recruitment in 2022 as opposed to the traditional way which we are all accustomed to and to prepare them for their next best step.
We would like students to become work ready by starting with basics on how to apply and interview for the world of work. The broadcast aims to be engaging and have resources available for schools, parents and students so they can continue using the resources throughout the academic year.
The list of recruitment practices in this broadcast will cover:
- Virtual interviews
- Assessment centres
- Video / Pre-recorded questions and video answers
- Online testing
- Group Assessments
- Psychometric testing
- Social media recruitment / presence
Apprenticeship Vacancies
Apprenticeship vacancies will be shared with Year 13s on the Google Careers Classroom as well as on our website. Please see linked here a list of Apprenticeship vacancies that will be updated regularly: https://www.salisbury6c.ac.uk/students/careers/
Pastoral
Rebecca Anderson, Pastoral Lead
We are aware that people will be saddened by the crisis in the Ukraine – students and families may also feel anxious and uncertain, especially as everyone is still affected by the pandemic. We shared an article with students on how to approach these concerns, and how to offer active support to those directly affected.
If you don’t want to read the full article – here are the headlines, with advice from Mind, and from clinical psychologist Dr Emma Hepburn.
1) Our thoughts are with those directly affected and they remain at the centre of this situation – but it is okay to recognise that we feel sad, worried, anxious, uncertain etc.
2) Try to do the things we know are good for us – connect with people, take a walk, practice gratitude, and be kind. There is so much we cannot control – but we can control our sleeping, eating, exercise, study, social connections etc.
3) Avoid ‘doom scrolling’ and constant checking. Find reliable sources of news, and if you want to keep up to date, allow a set time to check. Try to avoid constant news feeds as they offer little additional information but are known to heighten anxiety.
4) Take positive action to help those directly affected. This brings us back to the first point. Some will have brought in items for the collection, but there are lots of opportunities to donate to one of the refugee support charities listed in the How to Help Ukraine illustration.
We are also aware that we have a number of students with family members in active service. I have added a link that signposts support for military families.
Don’t forget that Helplines such as The Mix, Samaritans, Shout , Childline etc are all experienced in talking about these things and are there for you 24/7. Students can also talk to your tutor or teachers, or to Rebecca or Catherine.
Look after yourselves and each other.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60557186
https://www.army.mod.uk/people/join-well/managing-stress/ask-for-help/
Creative Media Update
Rich Eno – Faculty Lead for Creative
Health & Social Care students have been studying dementia this week and it has proved to be a fascinating subject for students and the teachers. Teacher Jo Mason says, “Teaching this unit helps the students understand just how emotional this condition is for the carers and families. It’s helping the students gain acceptance of people who suffer from this condition.”
Health & Social Care students are always busy with their studies but this doesn’t stop some of them from gaining work experience, volunteering and part-time work in a related field. For example, Rachel Fernandez has been working in a theatre at Salisbury Hospital where she has observed a tooth extraction and a stomach reconstruction!
Students in Art and Photography are this week preparing for the annual ARTiculation Prize. ARTiculation is the Roche Court Educational Trust’s national and international public speaking initiative, championing the appreciation and discussion of art. It enables a wide range of students aged between 14 and 23 to develop their confidence and ability to express their opinions, thoughts and reactions to the visual world. S6C is really thrilled that we have yet again students entering into this amazing opportunity.
Sport students are off to FTY Lab in Bournemouth in a couple of weeks and they are already really excited about it. FTY Lab is a revolutionary take on football training, and the first facility of its kind in the UK. Packed with an extensive range of hi-tech equipment, aimed to maximise improvement to every aspect of your game. This high tech analysis equipment links well with the Unit 5 studies that we completed prior to Christmas. Students will have the opportunity to analyse their own performances using the equipment provided.
Creative Media Practice students are deep in production for their Tiny Horror Stories project. Ideas range from witches in the woods, cursed necklaces and an animated monster film.
On Wednesday evening our Salisbury Spitfires continued their progress in the British Esports Association fixtures. The Overwatch team have now finished their Spring Season and, although they may be slightly disappointed with their final placing, can rest assured they have laid strong foundations for future Spitfires Overwatch teams. Spitfires Rocket League bounced back from last weeks showing with an impressive 3-0 win over their Scottish counterparts, really pushing for a Play-Off spot in the Spring Series. Spitfires Valorant came away with an impressive 13-2 victory, further establishing themselves in the mid-table of the UK’s Valorant teams.
Humanities
Sally Tye – Faculty Lead for Humanities
Year 12 RS students took a pause this week to discuss the current situation in Ukraine. Judith Harris Head of History at WSE and teacher of Year 12 History at S6C put together some resources on the history, current situation and what it means for our students.
STEM
Kirsty White – Faculty Lead for STEM
Lots of work is going on in planning for Science Week, more details will be listed in next weeks – students may like to sign up to the following Challenge.
