UTC Oxfordshire
Newsletter – 26th November 2021
Dear all,
A wet and blustery day to end a week of learning, culminating in our wonderful drop-down day, where students have engaged in seminars and discussions about ''risk''. This was the first of 4 days which we have planned across the year to tackle our statutory requirements of the curriculum. Students have engaged with the secrets of social media, risks surrounding drugs and alcohol, mental health, finance, relationships and sex education. Alongside physical boot camps, ''Safe Drive Stay Alive'' and team building activities. The day was planned meticulously and our outside visitors have been impressed with our student engagement.
History Trip to the Tower of London
Our year 11 Historians took s a trip to the Tower of London this week to discover the delights of historic Britain as part of their History GCSE.
National Day
Today is Black Friday where bargains in manufactured goods are ready to be had. These calendared events are important and, since most of us use a planner of some sort, I thought I would share with your how our calendars are manufactured, the engineering process and, of course, the number of employment opportunities that this industry provides.
Special Pop-up Food Event
On Wednesday 1st December we have a Chicken Shack pop-up street food feature. Students will go through the Elements Café and pay for their meals using their swipe cards as usual. See the menu below.
PPEs for Year 11 and Year 13
For Year 11
Please find the Y11 timetable for the December PPEs here
For Year 13
Please find the Y13 timetable for the December PPEs here
During PPEs Year 11 and Year 13 students will be granted study leave between Monday 6th and Friday 10th December. Year 11 students who arrive for a morning exam will only be permitted to leave site if they are a local resident or are being collected by parents. If a student has two exams in one day, a morning and afternoon exam, and they do choose to go home in between, they must be back on site for 1pm. All students can leave site after their last exam of the day.
All Year 11 and Year 13 students can revise in the LRC between exams.
Please note that the minibus will arrive and leave at the beginning and end of the day as usual.
There will be an assembly on Monday 29th of November that will outline everything the students need to know before the PPEs start.
If your student has Access Arrangements, an individual timetable with exam room details will be sent out in due course.
Public events at STFC/RAL
Talking Science – The James Webb Space Telescope: Preparing for launch (age 10+); Friday 17 December 19:00, by Paul Eccleston (Chief Engineer, RAL Space) and Dr Stephen Wilkins (University of Sussex)
- The James Webb Space Telescope is the largest space telescope ever built and, after years of designing, building, planning and testing, it will launch on 18 December. Webb is the scientific successor to the famous Hubble telescope, and will enable us to learn even more about the universe: from the first galaxies to the air around alien worlds. This talk will cover both the fascinating science Webb will undertake and the incredible engineering that has made it possible – including the testing for launch, some of which took place at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.
Talking Science – The amazing 24 million invertebrates and their associated scientists in the Natural History Museum (age 12+); Friday 28 January 19:00, by Dr Lauren Hughes (Natural History Museum)
- The Museum is a world-class visitor attraction and leading science research centre. They use their unique collections and unrivalled expertise to tackle the biggest challenges facing the world today. They care for more than 80 million specimens spanning billions of years and welcome more than five million visitors annually. Over the coming seven years they are excited to undertake their largest move of naturally history specimens gaining an additional research and collections facility in the prestigious Harwell Science Campus. Come to hear about these amazing invertebrates, our current researchers and the future of our natural history.
To register, please visit https://talkingscience2021-22.eventbrite.co.uk
Children in Need
Covid update
As we enter the winter period there are plenty of colds going around. Please continue to ensure that lateral flow tests are done twice weekly, preferably on a Monday morning (or last thing on a Sunday night) and a Thursday morning (or last thing on a Wednesday night). This should be done at least 30 minutes after having any food or drink.
Please record the results on the school form and the government website. If the lateral flow test is positive, then a PCR test must be taken. Please do not come to school if there is positive test or students have covid symptoms:
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal.
For students who have missed their vaccines there are a number of walk-in clinics locally. Please look out in the local press for these. We are not intending to run another COVID vaccination programme in school.
Elements Café
Dates for the diary
- Wednesday 1st December - Chicken Shack pop-up food event.
- W/b 6th December - Year 11 and Year 13 PPEs (pre public exams (mocks))
- Tuesday 7th December, 17:30 – 19:00, free Mental Health Awareness workshop: Mental Health Awareness for Oxfordshire Parents and Carers
- Tuesday 14th December - Reading Scholars Y10 cohort – students will leave 08.45 and return by 16:00
- Thursday 16th December - certificate collection and Mince Pie Meet Up for Year 11 and Year 13 Class of 2021, 16:00 to 17:30hrs
- Friday 17th December - end of term, finishing at lunchtime. This will be a Christmas Jumper Day - no fee to pay but bring a tin of non-perishable food to build the ''Christmas tree'' for the local food bank.
Term dates for 2021 to 2022
- Winter break is 20th December to 31st December 2021
Monday 3rd January is a Bank Holiday
Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th January 2022 are INSET days
- Spring Term 3 starts on Thursday 6th January
Half Term is 21st to 25th February 2022
Further information can be found our website here: www.utcoxfordshire.org.uk/term-dates/
Snow days
Should the school be closed due to snow then there will be text sent home and the information will be posted on our website. If snow closure persists for more than 1 day, then we will switch to virtual learning through Teams.
Have a great weekend
Stay safe
With good wishes
Sam