October Monday 24th - Friday 28th : Half Term Monday 31st : INSET Day. 3 School closed for pupils

November Tuesday 1st : School reopens for all pupils 8.45am Friday 25th : Review Day

December Friday 16th December : End of term, school closes at 12.30pm

January 2017 Tuesday 3rd : School reopens for all pupils 8.45am Thursday 12th : Y9 Parents’ Evening. 5.00pm - 7.00pm

February Thursday 9th : Y11 Parents’ Evening, 5.00pm - 7.00jpm Monday 20th - Friday 24th : Half Term. Monday 27th : School reopens for all pupils 8.45am

March Thursday 2nd : Post 16 Parents’ Evening, 5.00pm - 7.00pm

April Friday 7th : End of term, school closes at 12.30pm Monday 24th : School reopens for all pupils, 8.45am

May Monday 1st : May Day, school closed Thursday 25th : Y7 Parents’ Evening, 5.00pm - 7.00pm

June Tuesday 20th : New Intake Evening Tuesday 27th : Post 16 New Intake Evening

July Friday 21st : End of term, school closes at 12.30pm

5/5/13 Issue 1 OCT 2016

A proud welcome to our new Year Sevens 2016 - 2021

We are happy and proud to welcome our new cohort of Year 7s to Perryfields High. The pupils have made an excellent start to life at Perryfields and with their first week completed, they have all made the transition from primary school to secondary school life with fluidity and great maturity. As part of the transition process, every year we ask the youngsters to complete a project in the summer term providing information on who they are, what they have done and what they are interested in. The project is called “All About Me”. This year the standard was exceptionally high but ten students were select-ed for the quality of their finished project and they are pictured above. Congratulations to all the Year 7s for completing the project with outstanding effort - especially to our ten winners- and good luck everyone for your first year at Perryfields.

PERRYFIELDS’ PRIDE FOR NEW YEAR SEVEN

HEADTEACHER UPDATES

This is my fifteenth year as Headteacher at Perryfields and I feel very proud of both pupils and

staff who continue to produce excellent achievements. There is a particular ‘buzz’ around the

school this term and we are already seeing the benefits of our new assessment and behaviour

systems. The pupils uniform is outstanding, attendance extremely high and lateness significant-

ly reduced. This has meant the learning in the classrooms is further enhanced and many pupils

and parents have made very favourable comments on the positive ethos and atmosphere

around the school.

We have already hosted several successful events in September including Open Evening,

Presentation Evening, a Careers Fair and visits from six primary schools. Further events in

coming weeks include our Post 16 evening (Thursday 13th October), INSET day (Monday 31st

October) and a Review Day (Friday 25th November).

After a long wait due to technical difficulties in Sandwell’s transfer of broadband providers we

expect to open our new website after half term. We are also trialling an online parental appoint-

ment system following our introduction of online payments for school meals and trips. As al-

ways, I would like to thank parents and pupils for their continued support in what I believe will be

a great year.

D J Meredith

Lockers Pupils in Y7 who reserved a locker in the Summer term have now been allocated one. Can pupils please bring in £20 (£10 deposit and £10 subscription for 12 months) if they still require one. They will then be notified of which locker has been allocated to them together with the appropriate code. These reservations will be held until half term. After half term they will be allocated to students in other year groups.

Lost Property We have already this term accumulated a significant amount of lost property in school. If your child has lost any items can they ask at Reception to see if it has been handed in. All lost prop-erty will be disposed of at the end of term and must therefore be claimed before then.

ASSOCIATE HEADTEACHER UPDATES

Excellent start to the term

I would like to congratulate all pupils for their excellent start to the term, it is very noticeable that

uniform is at a very high standard and behaviour is excellent. Not only that, attendance is at an

extremely high level at 96.4%. I would also like to thank parents for their support with all of the

areas that I have mentioned above. I am sure that this will continue as we move into a period of

more challenging weather and darker mornings/evenings.

Enhanced site security

Many of you will have noticed that over the summer we had electronic gates fitted at the front of

the school which require visitors to buzz in before they go to reception. We have also increased

our CCTV in and around the building. This has further improved our levels of security and safe-

guarding.

Pupils cycling to school

The school has now got a lockable bike shed for those pupils who wish to ride to school. I have

spoken to pupils in assembly about the need for all pupils to lock their bikes in the shed and not

ride around school. Pupils should also wear helmets, have lights and wear high visibility coats

especially as we enter winter. However, the school does not take any responsibility for pupils

cycling to and from school.

USA 2018

There will be a meeting for all parents and pupils who now have a place on the above trip. This

will take place on Thursday 17th November at 6.00pm in the school hall. I will be going through

the draft itinerary and there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Although all of the places

have gone, my experience is that a number of students will drop out of the trip, therefore if you

would like your son or daughter’s name to go on the waiting list, please contact either myself or

Mrs Parker.

C D Lee

HISTORY DEPARTMENT NEWS

The History department are very proud of Samantha Plesinger- Davis who is exploring her passion for History by completing an English Heritage challenge. The challenge involves visiting English heritage places on their monopoly board and sending in proof of being there and when all 22 places have been visited we get some tea and cakes. Samantha has been recognised for her fantastic achievement by English Heritage and is featured in the ‘Out and About’ section of their monthly magazine. Samantha says, ‘ I think it’s been a wonder-ful experience as I have learnt lots of new things and have been able to travel around to different and interesting places. My favourite place would have to be Wrest park as it’s gorgeous and interesting.’ Very well done Samantha

Job Advert The History Department is looking for a group of students to help to organise Perryfields ’ first ever History Club! This opportunity would be great for committed students with a love of History and excellent leadership skills. It would also suit imaginative pupils who could create fun ways to promote History around school. The role would involve:

Designing activities/projects for students to complete at the History Club; Creating ways to showcase the work completed by students at the Club; Advertising and recruitment; Assisting Miss Whitehouse in running the History club. You would be required to dedicate one lunchtime a month to fulfil this role.

If you are interested, please see Miss Whitehouse in G5 by 19th October. All year groups are

welcome to apply and participation will contribute to the leadership pyramid.

MFL NEWS

Perryfields’ MFL Department has been awarded the

Foundation Level of the International School Award by the British Council The MFL Department is pleased to announce that it has been awarded the Foundation Level of the International School Award, by the British Council. This is the British Council ’s globally recognised accreditation marking schools’ achievements in international learning. Through the continued hosting of a modern language assistant from both a French and a Span-ish speaking country, over a number of years, through the Language Assistants programme, the MFL Department has been recognised for its efforts in bringing language learning to life and en-riching the MFL curriculum of Perryfields' pupils. The MFL team have further been recognised for the school’s commitments to international learning and embedding an international approach to learning in the school's curriculum. The MFL team are delighted to receive the award and hope to gain upon this success, through continued work with the British Council.

Elena from Toledo and Emilie from Mayenne, will be working with the MFL team until the end of May 2017. The MFL department send them a warm welcome and hope they enjoy their time at Perryfields.

The MFL Department is pleased to announce the arrival of our

new Language Assistants, Elena De La Cuerda (Spanish) and Emilie Bodinier (French)

EX-PUPIL’S SUCCESS

Halesowen youngster Pavan Davies is packing in readiness for a month long trip to India. The 18 year old former Perryfields High School pupil has been selected to represent England at the forthcoming Kabaddi World Cup which is being held in Ahmedabad, Gujurat from 7 th – 21st October. Pavan, who also plays rugby at Wolverhampton RUFC is a keen fan of the televised Professional Kabaddi League from India. He said:

“I saw trials were being held by the England Kabaddi Association so I thought I would try my luck, and I was selected! I am really excited by the whole trip. I am a novice in terms of Kabad-di so it will be a great experience to play against some of the top players particularly India who we played in our last Pool game on 18th October.

Although I have been to India a number of times I have never been to Gujurat so I am looking forward to that aspect of the trip too”

Info

The basic rules of Kabaddi are simple: two teams of seven players each face off in a large square arena for two halves of twenty minutes each. Players from each team take turns run-ning across the centre line to the other team's half of the court, tagging members of the other team, and running back. The more opposing team members they tag, the more points they score, but if the opposing team can physically prevent them from crossing back to their side of the court, they score no points!

COMPUTING NEWS

Lunchtime Computing club returns! Interested pupils from Year 7 are welcome to attend in J1 on Tuesdays from 12:40-13:15. Pupils can use our Raspberry Pi’s to install and learn Minecraft as well as Python programming. Other game making software can also be explored as well as Raspberry Pi’s.

Year 8 pupils with BBC Micro:bits also wel-comed. Did you try out your BBC Micro:bit over the summer holiday? Come and show what you have created. Or if you are having any technical issues please bring your Micro:bit along for further help.

Further details please ask your ICT teacher

YEAR 7 FAMILY ‘MEET AND GREET’ In the first week of the summer holidays, the Inclusion Team once again host-

ed sessions for our new Year 7 pupils. Pupils got a chance to meet and spend some time with the other Year 7’s in their Family Group. The sessions involved lots of fun, games and challenges. It was also a chance to earn some Family Points. We saw some excellent team work, lots of effort and plenty of smiles. We were very ably assisted by some of our Peer Mentor Team (Molly Clifft, Mia Lynam, Cara Lynam, Sadie Westwood, Eloise Blackburn, Kallam Nandra, Jack Jones, and Goonjan Kaur) plus our Head Girl, Tegan Lovatt. They helped to make sure everyone joined in and felt at ease. Some pupils were also invited to an extra morning, to spend a bit more time with the Inclusion Staff – to give them a real opportunity to get to know some of the staff they may be working with. The morning included a tour of key locations in school, a chance to discuss questions and worries, some team games, plus a quiz to see how much they knew about Perryfields. Everyone did really well and lots of prizes were awarded. The aim of these days is to help the pupils feel more confident and happy about the move to high school. Feedback from the pupils was very positive, many of them saying that what they enjoyed most was the chance to meet new people and make new friends.

ONLINE PAYMENTS

You can now make payments online to the school .Paying for school items

online is quicker and easier for you, safer for children and more efficient for the school. You can make payments for a wide range of things, from School Meals to Trips. Once registered you are able to see a full breakdown of what your child is spending their dinner monies on. The system is called School Gateway – and it’s available for you to use now. 1. Go to www.schoolgateway.com

2. When you visit the School Gateway website for the first time select ‘New User’ and enter

the email address and mobile telephone number you have registered with the school.

3. The system will send a PIN code to your phone, please enter this PIN code and your ac-count will be activated for you.

Any problems please contact the school and we will be more than happy to help.

CHARITY BIKE RIDE

Birmingham Velo

24th September 2017

In aid of The British Heart Foundation

On Sunday 24th September 2017 Mr Meredith, Mr J Gibson and myself will be taking part in a

100 mile cycle ride in aid of the Birmingham Heart Foundation. The reason for doing this is be-

cause a friend of ours passed away recently while out cycling from a heart attack, therefore in

memory of him we would like to raise as much money as possible.

The route starts in Birmingham City Centre and goes through Halesowen and Bewdley where it

crosses the River Severn before heading to Rochford and Bromyard. The route then turns back

towards Birmingham and goes through Clapton upon Teme, Martley and Chaddesley Corbett. It

then unfortunately goes up over St Kennelms Pass at Clent on 80 miles, which is extremely

steep, before heading for the finish in the City Centre.

We are hoping to raise a considerable amount of money over the coming year through dona-

tions, sponsorship, non uniform days etc. If anyone would like to donate money, this can be

done directly to the school.

We would like to thank you for your support.

C D Lee

Associate Headteacher

GEOGRAPHY NEWS

Year 11 fieldwork Between 14th and 16th September, 118 Year 11 geographers completed their locally based field-work for their Controlled Assessment. This year they were investigating the Central Business District of Stourbridge. They completed a range of tasks that ranged from traffic and pedestrian surveys to building up maps of land use and building height. The Geography Department were really impressed with all of the students over the three days, and they are now in the process of writing up their controlled assessments, which contribute 25% of their overall GCSE. Well done Year 11!

YOUNG CARERS INVITED TO SANDWELL COUNCIL HOUSE

In July, Sandwell Young Carers hosted a prestigious event in the Sandwell Council Chambers. The purpose was to highlight the issues surrounding being a young carer, and to secure sup-port and funding for the future. Sandwell Young Carers is a charity and relies completely on grants and donations for its exist-ence. The work they do is excellent, providing clubs, activities and trips for young carers, as well as offering advice and practical support. The event at the Council Chambers was hosted and run by the young carers themselves, in-cluding presentations and speakers. We were delighted that members of our own Young Car-ers Nurture Group were invited to present a short drama piece. Tia Grewal, Goonjan Kaur and Reece Molloy went along, having spent a number of weeks pre-paring and rehearsing their performance. The drama piece showed the daily realities of being a young carer and how schools can help solve problems and difficulties. They performed it in front of an audience which included the funding commissioner, local councillors, social workers, teachers and school nurses. The Chief Executive Officer of Sandwell Young Carers, Tracey Smith, said of our pupils, “They were fantastic, a real credit to the school. They did a brilliant job of representing young carers across the borough”. Goonjan said, “It was an exciting but nervous experience”. Reece said, “It was fun, and we were supported all the way through”. Tia said, “I found it fun. It was nice to be supported and not treated differently because you ’re a young carer”.

SIXTH FORMERS’ TRIP TO THE HIPPODROME

The BTEC Dance students were given an exciting opportunity to be audience members of Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theatre’s Performance. On Friday 23rd September the students were able to see one of the world’s most popular dance companies at The Birmingham Hippodrome. After the performance the students enjoyed a Question and Answer session with the director and principle dancers! All students had a fabulous time and thoroughly enjoyed the performances from the spectacular dancers!

AUTUMN

By Year 11 Poet Laureate Beth Proctor

Did you ever imagine Death could be so winsome? We are left with the remains of Darkness. Disciplined by the light of the Enemy.

Time fails to destroy Any living thing Except Your silent reflection That is mirrored by nurturance.

ATTENDANCE & PUNCTUALITY POLICY

Changes to our Attendance and Punctuality Policy As a school we aim to: Maintain an attendance rate of a minimum of 95% Maintain parents’ and students’ awareness of the importance of regular attendance Maintain good punctuality Good attendance is important because: Statistics show a direct link between under-achievement and poor attendance Regular attenders make better progress, both socially and academically Regular attenders find school routines, school work and friendships easier to cope with Regular attenders find learning more satisfying Regular attenders settle into High School more easily As part of our monitoring process we regularly review pupils’ attendance and punctuality. We believe that good attendance is a cornerstone of success at school. Although it is understandable that a child can feel ill, the degree of illness has to be measured against the impact the absence will have on their education. It is the parent/carer’s responsibility to verify that the child’s illness is worthy of a day(s) lost from school. There have been a couple of additions to our Attendance and Punctuality Policy this academic year and I would like to highlight these to the students and their families/carers. This academic year we have intro-duced a 30 minute detention for any student who arrives late for school. This is to raise the importance of being punctual and to minimise the disruption these students make to lessons. Can I raise your awareness that Perryfields High School is open from 7:30 am and runs a very successful before school club that all students can join. If a student continues to arrive late these students will also be placed on report until an improvement has been made. If the student arrives after 9:15 the students will receive an unauthorised late mark which will show on the students’ attendance figure. Can I also highlight the importance of providing medical appointment cards if your child has an early morning appointment. This is necessary even if par-ents have contacted the school to inform school that their child would be late due to a medical appointment. If an appointment card is not provided a 30 minute after school detention may be given. Your child’s attendance can be found in their planner, if you have any issues with your child’s attendance please contact school to discuss your concern. Please remember an attendance rate of 90% equates to one day of absence per fortnight. Even a rate of 95% equates to ten days every school year. This is con-siderable and in the world of work, employers would be concerned about such a figure. There has also been a change to our attendance policy where we have requested medical evidence for all children whose absence is longer than three days. If medical evidence is not provided these absences will be unauthorised and may lead to a referral for support being made to the Attendance and Prosecution Service. The Government requires attendance of above 95%, if this is not achieved, the Government re-quires the school to continue to notify parents until this figure improves - 90% attendance is deemed to be persistently absent (PA). If your child has two absences in any half term (6-7 weeks) our Educational Welfare Manager, Mrs Hin-kinson or your child’s Head of Family will be in contact either by a letter or by phone to discuss this matter. If your child’s absence falls below 95% a letter informing you that your child’s attendance has fallen below the Governments requirements will be sent - letters and phone calls will be made to raise our concerns if your attendance fails to improve. A meeting may also be requested to discuss any concerns during this meeting and a Parental Contract may be completed. If you are concerned with your child’s attendance please contact Mrs Hinkinson or your child’s Head of Family as there may be interventions the school can put in place to allow your child to still access their education. This may involve our Inclusion team, Learning Mentors, School Nurse, Home Education etc. Any unauthorised attendance/punctuality provides evidence of an offence by the parent as parents are le-gally responsible for their child’s attendance and punctuality.

put in place to allow your child to still access their education; this may involve our Inclusion team, Learning Mentors, School Nurse, Home Education etc. Any unauthorised attendance/punctuality provides evidence of an offence by the parent as parents are legally responsible for their child’s attendance and punctuality. Exceptional Leave- Term Time Leave of Absence We are always concerned about the amount of school time students miss as a result of term time leave. There is no entitlement to time off during term time. Leave of absence is only granted in exceptional circum-stances at the discretion of the Headteacher and in accordance with the school policy as agreed by the Governing Body. It is our policy: Only in exceptional circumstances will term time leave be allowed. Parents/Carers wishing to apply for leave of absence need to fill in an application 6 weeks in advance of the request for absence. If term time leave is taken without prior permission from the school, the absence will be unauthorised and you may be liable for a fixed penalty fine or other legal action. Can I inform you Sandwell Council have not changed their policy with regard to Leave of Absence and referrals are still made by the school. Please remember that absences for whatever reason disadvantage a child by creating gaps in his/her learn-ing. A good understanding of the work and good progress can only take place when the child is in the class-room regularly and on time.

VACANCIES

Lunchtime Supervisory Assistant

Salary: Band B (£14996 - £16191 pro rata)

We are looking to appoint a reliable person to join our lunchtime team who enjoys working with children to help supervise pupils inside and outside throughout the lunchtime break. The post is for 5.42 hours per week (Monday - Friday) term time only. Application forms and further details are available from the school on 0121 421 7979 or email beverly.parker@perrys.org.uk

Cashier

Salary: Band A (£14535 - 14792 pro rata) We are looking to appoint a Cashier for 7½ hours per week term time, during the lunchtime peri-od. Normal working hours are: 12.00pm – 1.30pm Monday to Friday. Application forms and further details are available from the school on 0121 421 7979 or email beverly.parker@perrys.org.uk Please note that a Sandwell application form must be completed. We do not accept CVs unless you have a disability which makes it difficult for you to complete the application form. If shortlisted for interview you will be contacted either by email or letter. If you do not receive such an email or letter please conclude that you have not been shortlisted. Closing date for applications: Friday 21st October 2016 at 12.30pm Interviews will be held during week commencing Monday 31st October 2016