Year 8 Parent Letter 1st April 2022

1st April 2022

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we approach the Easter break, I would like to congratulate Year 8 on an excellent term at Biddenham.

As we have returned to a semblance of ‘normal’, with fewer restrictions in place, students have really enjoyed activities and opportunities which they were not fully able to access last year. Here are just a few of the exciting things that have been happening in Year 8 this term:

• Energy Quest Workshop – 30 Year 8s took part in a fun filled STEM morning;
• Sporting fixtures – a return to competitions and tournaments;
• Sports leadership – Our leaders have supported with events involving local primary schools;
• Mentoring with sixth formers – providing students with positive role models to guide and support them;
• Student buddies – Year 8s have created lunchtime clubs for Year 7 students;
• Holocaust memorial day – a day off timetable which gave students the opportunity to learn more about an historical event;
• Young translators club – bringing our bilingual and multilingual students together and empowering them to become translators.

Our pastoral sessions have a set structure which includes a weekly PSHE session. This term, Year 8 have been learning about democracy, the importance of human rights and healthy relationships. The sessions are taught by their tutors and are interactive, encouraging student voice and oracy. We continually embed the importance of student wellbeing at Biddenham. We are fortunate enough to have our own school counsellor and we run self esteem sessions, colouring club and drop in sessions. We understand that students might be struggling and we encourage them to talk to a trusted adult at school so we can offer necessary support.  Students can access support from the Year 8 pastoral team (Mrs Gill – Head of Year 8 and Mr Simpson and Miss Nagle – Assistant Heads of Year), Mrs Speight and Mrs Gray (our wellbeing co-ordinators) and Mr Ray (our resilience co-ordinator).

You will have recently received your child’s academic report. We appreciate your support with homework completion and organisation for lessons. Please continue to talk to your child about what they are learning at school and don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like more information.  To support your child in meeting their potential at Biddenham, there are planned interventions and booster sessions for students who we feel need some additional support. Our extra curricular activities are extremely popular and we are really pleased with the amount of Year 8 students attending these. A full timetable of clubs has been posted on the PE google classroom pages and they will be shared with students again at the beginning of next term.

To ensure students are ready to learn, please ensure your child has the correct equipment, a fully charged chromebook and they are in the correct uniform for school. Some of our students may have outgrown their uniform and school shoes and the next two weeks are a good opportunity to order any new items which can be ordered from Sportswear International – www.swischoolwear.co.uk or our school uniform office via parentpay. Ties can only be purchased via parent pay and school shoes (black trainers are not permitted) are available at most supermarkets. For details of the school’s uniform policy and requirements, please see our website or consult your child’s planner. In addition to this, here is a reminder of the timings of the school day. Please encourage your child to be on time and to attend school every day unless they are too unwell to be in school.

If you have any questions or messages to pass on to teachers, we recommend that you write these in your child’s planner. If you would prefer to email us, here are the contact details for Year 8 tutors:

8IM                  Miss Ines Macedo ines.macedo@biddenham.beds.sch.uk

8EAP               Miss Lizzie Parker lizzie.parker@biddenham.beds.sch.uk

8EW/LF           Miss Elise Warburton elise.warburton@biddenham.beds.sch.uk

8GM                Miss Georgina Murphy georgina.murphy@biddenham.beds.sch.uk

8HCB              Miss Hannah Badman hannah.badman@biddenham.beds.sch.uk

8RJC              Mr Rob Ciantar rob.ciantar@biddenham.beds.sch.uk

8SVN              Miss Sophie Nixon sophie.nixon@biddenham.beds.sch.uk

8EC                 Miss Estefania Calvete estefania.calvete@biddenham.beds.sch.uk

On behalf of the Year 8 pastoral team we continue to appreciate your support and engagement and we look forward to working with your child and yourselves over the coming term. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or queries.

Regards,

Deena Gill

Head of Year 8