Bulletin - The Chase School

Bulletin
                                  12th – 23rd October 2020
Headteacher’s Blog -   9th   October 2020

We made all Chase parents aware this week that a student had tested positive for Covid-19
in Year 10, and as a result, the decision was taken to send all Year 10 students home to self-
isolate for 14 days following discussions with Public Health and the Local Authority. Year 10
students must therefore now remain at home until 20th October. At this stage, I am not aware
of any further positive Covid cases within this year group or elsewhere in school which is
certainly good news.

We are hoping that we do not need to send other Year Groups home to self-isolate due to
further positive Covid cases, but this is quite possible in the future.

In order to prepare everybody for possible further disruption, I thought it would be useful to
outline our approach to remote learning as we are determined that the students do not miss
out on valuable learning during this time of isolation. All of our teachers have therefore been
instructed to provide materials and resources for students to access on Google Classroom so
that they do not fall behind with their studies. Teaching colleagues are also providing on line
interactive lessons for the students to participate in during this time of isolation. This means
that we would expect the students to follow their normal school timetable and log onto
Google Classroom for a Google Meet at the time that they are scheduled to receive direct
instruction from a teacher. Their teacher will record all of the Google Meet sessions for
safeguarding purposes, just as they did during the first national lockdown, and this will be
securely stored in school. Teachers are also taking a note of those students who miss these
sessions, so that we can consider possible catch up sessions when the students are back in
school. If the technology that you have at home cannot facilitate a live Google Meet then
we encourage your child to access the materials that have been posted in their classrooms
and complete this in the same way that they did during the first national lockdown.

If your child does not have access to technology to support their remote learning you must
contact your child’s Year Leader in the first instance so that we can arrange for paper copies
of material to be sent home.

As the student who tested positive was asymptomatic, and was only tested as they had
agreed to take part in a sample trial, it is a timely reminder that we must follow and adhere
to the current Government ‘Hands, Space, Face’ advice to ensure that everybody is kept
safe within our school and wider local community.

We will continue to keep all parents notified through our normal communication channels
and would appreciate it if you could reciprocate by notifying the school if you or your child
(or any family member) develop Covid symptoms.

We held our first virtual Parents Consultation Evening yesterday with Year 11 parents and apart
from a few initial technical glitches (not our fault!) the meetings between teachers and
parents progressed very well. We are planning to hold all forthcoming consultation evenings
in this way and for the foreseeable future. Parents are provided with the option of receiving

a written statement from their child’s teachers if they do not have the necessary technology
to access the virtual consultations.
ELAs w/c 12th October       Y7: RE                             Y8: Computing
ELAs w/c 19th October       Y7: Computing                      Y8: Art
Drop Everything And         w/c 12th Oct Unit 1                w/c 19th Oct Unit 6
Read
Thought for the Week    Freedom: “To find yourself, think for yourself.” - Socrates (Classic
12th Oct                Greek philosopher)
                        Resilience: “Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less
19th Oct                good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do
                        nothing but scream about what you've lost, or you can accept that
                        and try to put together something that's good.” - Elizabeth Edwards
                            Celebration & Achievement
Mini London Marathon: Well done to the students and staff who raised over £3,000 for St
Richards Hospice running a mini-marathon on school grounds over the week. Full report on
our website.

England selection: Sophie Stokes (VIMO) has been selected for England Hockey! See 6th Form
section below for more details.

Poet Laureate visits Chase: Leena Batchelor swapped her Headteacher’s PA hat for her
Worcestershire Poet Laureate one last week as part of National Poetry Day celebrations to
offer a workshop to A-level English Literature students. Leena has also provided a video for
other year groups and installed a poetry board along our concourse, with contributions from
both students and staff. Full report on our website.

                           Events 12th – 23rd October 2020
               Full Staff Meeting Wednesday 21st – No afterschool clubs
Mon 12th      Staff Christian Prayer Group 08:10 – Room 2
              TUTOR TIME U2
Tues 13th
Weds 14th
Thurs 15th    Music GCSE controlled assessment
Fri 16th      School games inter-school L2 Y5-7 X-country Malvern Common 11am
Mon 19th      Staff Christian Prayer Group 08:10 – Room 2
              Data capture week Y11-13
              Chase primary Y5/6 netball & football league @ Chase 3:30pm
Tues 20th     TUTOR TIME U2
Weds 21st     Full Staff Meeting 3:15pm
Thurs 22nd    Governors Finance & Premises 6pm
Fri 23rd
                                         Notices
Attendance: The school’s target for attendance is 96%. Current attendance is 94.6%

Should you wish to contact school to inform us of your child’s absence, please either leave a
message on the school’s dedicated 24-hour absence line by 10:00am on each day of your
child’s absence (01684 891961 and follow the instructions), email school on
attendance@chase.worcs.sch.uk or text on 07860 095556. Please ensure that you contact
school every day that your child is absent, not just the 1st day.

6th form: please ring 01684 898752, alternatively email lmassam@chase.worcs.sch.uk or
sixthform@chase.worcs.sch.uk for attendance or any other queries

FACE COVERINGS ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT: A reminder that it is mandatory to wear face
coverings on school buses (in addition to public buses) as of 6th October. We also request that
you encourage your child to wear face coverings when moving around inside school – these
measures are to ensure we maintain the health and safety of our community. Social
distancing is also a requirement, even when meeting in year group bubbles.

#wakeupwednesday What are ‘Online Challenges? Be able to support your child with this
online trend, read the #wakewednesday ‘A Parent’s Guide to Online Challenges’ on the
Chase FaceBook page or The Chase Twitter account.

Homework club: A reminder that homework club currently runs as follows:
              YEAR 7 – Tuesdays
              YEAR 8 – Wednesdays
              YEAR 9 – Thursdays

Uniform clarification: Students are permitted to wear a Chase Hoodie with their PE kit in school
and in the classroom. No other type of Hoodie is allowed to be worn in class. Students will be
allowed to wear their coat in class, with the teachers permission, if it is believed to be too cold
in the classroom (due to the windows being open). A hoodie is NOT a coat in most instances.
There are a few exceptions- such as a zip up plain hoodie style coat which may be allowed.
If unsure- please send the student to the relevant Year Leader who will determine whether
the said article of clothing is a hoodie or a coat.

Extra-curricular clubs: These have now started for the Autumn Term. Full listings available on
our website.

Medical Room: If your child has a medical condition and you have informed the school
regarding this please make sure you complete an Individual Health Care Plan Form. If you are
unsure whether you need to complete a form please do not hesitate to contact the Medical
Room team.

We would like to remind all parents that students are allowed to carry over the counter
medication (e.g. paracetamol and ibuprofen) with them in school for minor ailments. Please
make sure you complete an Over the Counter Medication form to give parental consent for
your child to carry such medication with them. This form has to be renewed every Academic
Year.

All our forms can be found on the school website or alternatively contact the Medical Room
and we can send you a form in the post.

https://www.chase.worcs.sch.uk/information/parental-letters-forms/

                                          Sixth Form News

Great news! Sophie Stokes first played hockey in Year 7 at the Chase and now in Year 13
has been nominated for England under 18 hockey trials for the 20-21 season. Well done,
Sophie!

YELLOW DAY
When we think of the colour yellow we tend to associate it with happiness, and optimism,
enlightenment and creativity, sunshine and Spring. Today our Sixth Form students organised
and participated in Yellow day to increase awareness of Mental Health and raise funds for
Young Minds, a charity that supports young people’s mental health. Lockdown had a
devastating effect on some children and young people’s mental health and students wanted
to show that together, they could can make a positive difference and show young people
they are not alone. Students wore yellow and donated £1 to a collection; they also held a
cake sale. A PowerPoint created by Jess Campbell and Leah Bristow in Y13 was used at Tutor
time to stimulate discussion about a ‘lockdown survival kit’ and ways of helping others having
a difficult time. There was definitely a positive buzz about the Sixth form with so much yellow
on display! Photos of the students will be showcased in the main concourse next week to
highlight mental health awareness to the other years.

                                     Friends of The Chase

NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of Friends of The Chase (FoTC) will be via Zoom on Tuesday, 13th October at
6:30pm. Please email friendsofthechase@gmail.com if you would like a Zoom invite. We have
a first draft of the 2019-2020 annual report for the past year ready for review at this meeting.

SAVE THE DATE
The Friends of The Chase AGM will be on Wednesday 11th November at 6:30pm.

GRANT: £9,200 for Fitness Suite from Babcock
In 2019, several PE teachers, as FoTC members, submitted a grant application to Babcock for
£9,200 to improve weight training and fitness facilities at The Chase. The two small rooms which
make up the fitness suite have been re-wired, refloored and repainted. Multigym equipment
installed in 1987 (33 years ago!) has been replaced with a multi station and free weights rack
which allows students to use free weights safely. There is also a full set of dumb bells. In the
flexibility and mobility area there are resistance bands, mats and jump boxes. Cardiovascular
equipment consists of a Wattbike and Ski Erg.

Pupils studying PE at GCSE and A-level as well as BTEC Sport will be able to use the suite for
those course topics which require access to a gym. Several sixth form pupils are currently
working towards The Chase Fitness Leadership Award and it is hoped they will subsequently
pursue a national fitness trainer qualification which will open doors to other opportunities.

“The PE staff and I are really pleased with the improvements to the facility and students are
excited to get in the room and use the equipment,” said Mr Thomas, PE Faculty Leader. Social
distancing rules mean that only six people may use the facility at a time so there has been a
staged approach to allowing access. “Staff are already using the facility before and after
school. We are currently inducting interested sixth form students so they may use the suite
when it is free and their lesson schedule allows. We hope to make the suite available to year
11 after school soon,” added Mr Thomas. Student interested in learning more should see Mr
Penhale in the PE Department.

“We are keen to secure some more equipment as soon as possible, including two Concept 2
rowers,” says Mr Thomas, “so we still have some fundraising to do.”

THE CHASE SCHOOL LOTTERY
If you are keen to support the work of FoTC during the pandemic, we have a perfectly socially
distanced way for you to do so:

The Chase School Lottery https://www.yourschoollottery.co.uk/lottery/school/the-chase-
school

Congratulations to our two most recent winners: Mrs C who won £35.70 on 25th September
and Miss W who won £36.00 2nd October! We would like to say a special ‘thank you’ to Mrs C
for donating her prize to The Chase. We are so grateful to all our lottery supporters! Everyone
signed up this term are also in with a chance of winning a family ticket for a Harry Potter Studio
Tour.

EASYFUNDRAISING
Search “Friends of The Chase” on https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk and raise money for
FoTC every time you shop online! This is another great way to support our children and our
school during these socially distanced times and with so many of us shopping online, this
method is of increasing significance … especially with Christmas coming!

SECOND HAND UNIFORM
We are thrilled and humbled by all the wonderful donations that have been left in the green
dustbin in The Chase Main Reception. It feels a bit like Christmas when we collect them. Thank
you. Keep them coming! All donations have been quarantined, sorted and hung up and
many have already gone out to pupils. We would like to encourage anyone with PE hoodies
gathering dust at home to donate. Since pupils are wearing PE kit all day on days when they
have PE, a hoodie helps keep them warm in well-ventilated classrooms.

We still have five (5) of the older style, Samurai PE hoodies in size MB (medium boy) which
should fit a 33” chest. They are very good quality (that’s why they are still around) and now
that the weather is getting cooler, you may wish to get one for you child. We make them
available for £3.

We also have the old-style Samurai ripstop rugby training tops which act a bit like a wind
cheater and offer some weather proofing. They are polyester, mesh lined, with adjustable
cuffs and a ribbed neck. They have a toggle at the bottom, the school badge on the front
and "THE CHASE" across the back. Most of them area man’s size XS which we estimate fits a
38” chest. School Togs gave us their unsold stock two years ago so they are all new. The PE
Department are happy for pupils to wear them during lessons. School Togs used to sell them
for £22.00 but we offer them for a £10 donation. If you would like either an MB hoodie or an
XS training top, please email friendsofthechase@gmail.com with the name of the item, the
size required, the name of your child and their form. This email address is manned on a
volunteer basis, but we will do our best to reply in a timely fashion.

VOLUNTEERS INVITED
We have had a very stable committee for the last three years which has made it possible to
do some fantastic work. We would like to meet parents who are interested in learning more
about how we support The Chase. And for the next year there is zero chance of you being
asked to take on a role or project. There has never been a better time to join!

                                           Reminders
Lost Property : in order to try and reunite lost items with their owners, please make sure all items
are clearly named. We cannot accept responsibility for any items that are lost. Items that
have not been collected or reunited with their owners after 6 weeks will be donated to
charity.

Contact details : please make sure we have up-to-date contact details for you to ensure we
can contact you in the event of an emergency, especially if your child is unwell and needs
collecting. To update your details, email office@chase.worcs.sch.uk

                              Next bulletin due 23rd October 2020