THE FOX'S UPDATE April 2021 - Bishop Fox's School
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THE FOX’S UPDATE April 2021
It has been a short but busy half term since we the challenge of the assessments set for them this
opened to all students on the Tuesday 9th March. term with a high degree of maturity and
responsibility. No doubt their efforts will be reflected
Since then we have successfully carried out over
in the Centre Assessed Grades they will receive this
2,350 Lateral Flow Device tests as part of our
summer. The government released its guidance
asymptomatic testing programme. We have also
regarding Centre Assessed Grades this week and I
distributed thousands of LFD test to students, for
will write to Year 11 at the start of the summer term
them to continue testing themselves at home. It is
explaining the details of this process and confirm the
important that this testing regime continues over
leaving date for them.
Easter, please see details in my earlier letter regarding
this. We hope your child has had a supportive experience
on their return to school and we are looking forward
More importantly than the testing is the fact we have
to a full and uninterrupted summer term. We are
had students back in school and back in class rooms.
hopeful that restrictions continue to lift and we are
As proud as I am of the efforts our students and staff
able to run a greater number of enrichment
went to with engaging in remote learning, nothing
opportunities as the term progresses.
beats the in person interaction between teacher and
student. It has been a pleasure these last four weeks Thank you all once again for your cooperation and
to see so many students engaging so well with the support this term and I hope you all have a restful
learning and really making strong progress. and safe Easter holiday.
On this note, I also wanted to pay particular Mr Blunsum
attention to our Year 11’s. They have responded to
Positive covid cases
- DATES FOR YOUR DIARY NEXT TERM - CHANGE OF DATE
We now need to be
21st April: St George’s Day
informed up to and
22nd April: Year 9 Parents’ Evening including April 7th
of any positive cases.
20th May: Year 7 Parents’ Evening
High Standards & High Expectations
REMOTE HOME LEARNING UNIFORM EXPECTATIONS
As we welcomed back our students to face-to-face teaching this With shops re-opening again before the start of next term, we would
term, I want to extend my thanks and appreciation to the like to clarify our uniform expectations.
parents/guardians who supported their child(ren) through the
various remote home learning phases.The feedback we received The vast majority of students wear their uniform appropriately and
about the live lessons was wholly positive and we are pleased to adhere to the school’s rules for uniform, thus avoiding unwanted
report that the buy-in from the students was very high with 97% conflicts and confrontations during the school day. However, to prevent
of students accessing live lessons across the lockdown period. future conflicts, we ask parents/guardians to help us maintain the
standard of uniform and ensure when new items of uniform are
As you know, we deployed a significant number of laptops to bought they comply with our standards.
ensure students could continue to access the live lesson
provision. I will write to all parent/guardians who received a
Students are expected to:
laptop later in the year to request their return as until then they • Wear black or charcoal grey school skirts of an appropriate length
may be required for future self-isolation cases. However, if your (just above the knee) and be tailored (not a stretchy skirt or skater
circumstances have changed and you no longer require a laptop skirt).To assist in clarifying this issue we provide a school skirt for sale
please return it to reception. from SouthWest Schoolwear - the ‘Colchester’ skirt.
• Wear appropriate school trousers.These should not be skinny jeans
Please continue to support regular home learning and monitor or chinos, but plain fitted black or charcoal grey tailored trousers with
your child's home learning tasks via your parent account on side pockets.
Satchel One. If you do not have access to your parent account,
please email us at office@bishopfoxs.co.uk and we can send you • Wear either black or grey socks or neutral or plain black tights. White
your user name and password again. socks are not permitted.
• Wear black school shoes, not trainers, daps, vans/leather vans or
Mr Ayres canvas shoes to and from school and in school except when playing
Assistant Headteacher sport on the hardcourt/field at recess and lunchtime. The only time
students are allowed to wear daps is if they are provided by ourselves
as an emergency temporary measure. No high-heeled platform shoes
EXTRA-CURRICULAR or open sandals are allowed for safety reasons.
We will begin to offer a limited programme of extra-curricular
after Easter.This provision will grow steadily throughout the next • Wear the school tie, such that it touches the shirt collar at the front
term.. and is worn to its proper length. Top buttons must be done up.
• Wear only discreet makeup and jewellery – extensive jewellery is
All activities will be following Covid guidelines and will be
not permitted.There should be no extremes of hair fashion or colour.
delivered in year group bubbles.
Unnatural hair colours are not allowed.
This will limit the range of activities we can offer but we will aim • Wear only the school V-neck jumper under the blazer during periods
to offer as much as guidelines allow. of cold weather in addition to the school blazer.
We will update the extra-curricular timetable each fortnight on • Ensure that shirts are tucked into trousers/skirts at all times.
the website. • Refrain from facial piercings. If ears are pierced, studs or small
discreet earrings can be worn in the lower ear lobes only. Nose,
eyebrow or other facial piercings are not acceptable and
spacers/stretchers are not permitted.
• Wear a dark plain coat when required - NOT a hoodie.
Students are expected to adhere to these expectations while in school
and on the journey to and from school.
Where students fail to do so, items of inappropriate clothing will be
confiscated and daps will be issued in place of trainers. In extreme
cases students will be withdrawn from the school community until the
problem is resolved. The uniform expectations are illustrated below.
Students failing to follow these expectations are likely to be asked to
change, placed in the isolation room or sent home to change.
If you are struggling to find replacement items that your child may
need, we have lots of ‘pre-loved’ uniform in school. Please email
office@bishopfoxs.co.uk and we will try out best to assist you.
OPTIONS UPDATE
We have received option forms from all students and we are currently processing all the options. It is not too late to change an option if
you wish to do so. Where possible we will make these changes during the options and timetabling process. This is especially important
this year as students have missed many face to face lessons in Year 7 and 8.
If a student wished to make a change please contact: Mr Summerill via office@bishopfoxs.co.uk.
High Standards & High Expectations
How can I help my child spot fake news online?
WELLBEING Tell them to ask themselves:
Fake news and disinformation online • What’s the source? Is it a reputable news source, and are
Fake news is false or misleading information presented as genuine mainstream news outlets reporting it too?
news. Fake news and disinformation have been linked to
• When was it published? Check the date an article was published,
radicalisation by extremists and attempts to skew people’s world
as sometimes old stories are shared on social media. This could be
views. Extremist narratives relating to coronavirus include:
an accident, or it might be to make it look like something happened
• Antisemitic conspiracy theories blaming Jewish people for the recently.
spread of the virus or suggesting it’s a ‘Jewish plot’
• Have you seen anything similar elsewhere? What happens if you
• Claims that British Muslims have flouted social distancing rules search for it on Google or check it using a fact-checking website
• Anti-Chinese hatred like Full Fact?
• Isis-inspired narratives about how coronavirus is a divine • Do the pictures look real? Images might have been edited. They
punishment for the ‘sinful behaviours’ of the west might also be unrelated images that have been used with the story
• Extreme right-wing conspiracies that society is collapsing and far- • Why might this have been created? Could someone be trying to
right groups can accelerate its end provoke a specific reaction, change your beliefs, or get you to click
a link?
Reading information like this can upset or worry your child Encourage them to read beyond the headline too. Many people share
unnecessarily. Fake news also helps create a culture of fear and stories having just read the headline, then discover the actual story
uncertainty, with children trusting reputable news outlets less as a is quite different.
result of fake news.
Point them to the government’s SHARE checklist
(https://sharechecklist.gov.uk/) and advice from Childline
(https://bit.ly/3oYfsgd) too.
DANCING STARS
Well done to this half terms dancing stars. The award is given to students for hard work and achievement throughout the term.
Owen Sparks (Year 7) - Emily Hitchcott (Year 7) - Mia Jeffrey (Year 8) - Thomas Hiett (Year 8)
Nicola Olesiak (Year 9) - Phoebe Mason-Walshaw (Year 10) - Georgia Bailey (Year 11)
SOFA DANCE - LOCKDOWN PROJECT
Our sofa dance is now LIVE! If you haven’t had a chance to view it yet, you can do so here: https://vimeo.com/529283470. Thank you and
well done to everybody that took part!
High Standards & High Expectations
HEAD PREFECTS 2020/21
esme knight bradley richings isabelle bailey al rigden
Head Girl Head Boy Head Prefect Head Prefect
anvika biju james grant annabel johns adam willis
Head Prefect Head Prefect Head Prefect Head Prefect
Fox’s new Head Prefects are now ready for their duties! Esme Knight Therefore their jobs will include working with a member of SLT
is our new Head Girl and Bradley Richings is our new Head Boy. to implement the School Improvement Plan, each Head Prefect
being given a particular aspect to focus on, such as Teaching and
The following students have been appointed as Head Prefects; Anvika Learning or Extra-curricular. They will be responsible for building
Biju, Isabelle Bailey, Annabel Johns, Al Rigden, James Grant and Adam a team environment with the remaining prefects to focus their
Willis. All have agreed they went through a rigorous process to secure attention on improving one aspect of our school community.
the privileged positions.
The Head Prefects will also take responsibility as role models for
To qualify as a Head Prefect, the students were expected to have younger students, setting the highest standards at all times, and
excellent attendance, punctuality and discipline records alongside the helping to ensure the school is a safe and secure place for all
highest levels of respect, effort, attitude, manners and motivation to students.
work. Involvement in extra-curricular clubs, school events and school
awards were also taken into consideration. Students would have I am immensely proud of our 2020-2021 Head Prefects, a group
made considerable contributions to the life of the school; it is to that has already this year, both collectively and individually,
recognise and reward sustained and substantial contributions. Finally, demonstrated why they were chosen to fulfil this important role.
they have been endorsed by their peers and the staff body.
Mr Contreras
Due to the challenges of Covid-19 the interview process had to be Head of Year 11
delayed. Furthermore, the traditional role of a prefect such as carrying
out lunchtime duties, assisting with out of hours events such as Open
Evenings, Parents’ Evenings and Awards Evening had to be amended
due to the challenges of Covid-19.
BISHOP FOX’S SCIENCE MARBLE RUN COMPETITION
There is still time to enter our marble competition! The goal is to build a marble run that takes 60 seconds to complete. Full details are
available on Show My Homework and the deadline is Friday 16th April.
High Standards & High Expectations
From Year 10 the following students achieved a bronze award:
INTERMEDIATE MATHS Melissa Coles - Ashley Coles
Summer Harrison - Aaliyah Laxamana
CHALLENGE Rhiannon Blinco and Daniel Tier both achieved a silver award with
Daniel also being awarded 'Best in School'.
On Thursday 4th February students from Years 9-11 participated
in the online Intermediate Maths Challenge.
From Year 11 the following students achieved a bronze award:
From Year 9 the following students achieved a bronze award: Kuba Lepszy - Kiara Matull
Izaak Ng - Sneha Sajan
Rainielle Mangabat - Reece Mcbride
Will McLean - Dillon Millard Melanie Jerome and Andrew Page both achieved a silver award with
Oliwia Trawicka Andrew achieving the 'Best in Year' award.
Will Mclean achieved the 'Best in Year' award. A fantastic outcome, well done.
DESIGN TECHNOLOGY Some of our Engineers have already had a go at building Hydraulic
Excavators that were purchased using this fund.
We have been successfully awarded two grants recently. One from
the National Grid Hinkley project and another from the Institute
of Physics. These grants we be used to buy STEM kits including
radio controlled Micro Drones from Airgineers and a range of
battle bots from Bristol based company Bristol Bot Builders.
These new resources will be used to enhance our KS4
Engineering courses, KS3 after school clubs and whole school
STEM activities when Covid 19 regulations permit.
UNIT AWARD SCHEME
A big congratulations to our AQA Unit Award Scheme
students who have achieved nine unit certificates across
the curriculum.
High Standards & High Expectations
MUSIC Year 7 Boomwhackers
The department has invested in some boomwhackers for Year 7
This year continues to be very different in the music department. students to use in music lessons.This is a huge success and as well
During live lessons Year 7 studied the instruments of the orchestra, as a great learning resource is also great fun and covid secure.
Year 8 studied Blues music and KS4 studied the different genres Some members of staff trialled the instruments beforehand!!
of music and completed both performance and composition tasks
at home. Year 8 keyboards
Now we are back in school year 8 are once again using keyboards
Design your own musical instrument Year 7 competition instead of virtual keyboards. Year 8 are currently practicing their
Over the third lockdown, Year 7 students were set the task of 12 bar blues songs!
designing and making their own musical instruments. Huge well
done to everyone who took part and below are some of the Extra curricular
entries. We are hoping to start year 7 ukulele and year 8 ensemble again
after Easter. In addition to this all instrumental lessons will
Congratulations to everybody that took part - the winners recommence. Tutors will contact parents direct with information.
received Easter Eggs!
CYBERFIRST SEMI-FINALISTS
On Friday 19th March four of our lovely Year 8 girls, Evie Edwards,
Lucia Velarde Jakubec, Layal Al-Roubaie and Amelia Douglas, took
part in the semi-finals of the National Cyber Security Center’s
CyberFirst Girls Competition. Achieving a place at the semi-finals
was impressive, originally 16000 students from 750 schools
entered the competition, with just 1200 students from 200 schools
being selected for the semi-finals. Bishop Fox’s being the only
school in Somerset to make the Semi-finals.
The girls were competing with 20 other teams in the south west,
most of the 20 teams were from private/grammar education
institutions. The CyberFirst Girls Competition sees girls aged 12
to 13 working in teams of x4. They put their cyber security skills
to the test through a series of fun and increasingly challenging
online puzzles covering topics including Logic & Coding, Cyber They worked diligently with determination and enthusiasm for four
Security, Networking and Cryptography. hours right up to the last minute. Our team’s final position hasn’t
been released but our team didn’t drop below 8th on the leader
board. Our girls can hold their heads high having achieved so much
more than just a position on a score board. Please do congratulate
them if you see them as getting to the semi-finals was a real
accomplishment in itself.
LUCIA VELARDE JAKUBEC
An additional well done to Lucia who completed a gymnastics masterclass during lockdown with commonwealth gymnasts. Lucia was invited
to attend by the Rhythmic Team alongside team GB.
This was a fantastic opportunity and it will open many doors. Lucia has also completed all of her awards including Bronze Silver and Gold and
is on her Grade 3 Rhythmic Gymnastics. Well done Lucia!
High Standards & High Expectations
PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL WELLBEING
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as 'a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity'.
PE Concepts of Learning
Physical
Resilience Health
Leadership Thinking
Physical health
Good physical health is linked to fitness ʹ being able to perform effectively the physical tasks
involved in life as well as sport. Being physically healthy includes:
x enjoying being physically active
x having good balance, coordination and agility in everyday tasks as well as sport
x having the strength, stamina and suppleness required for daily life, work and play
x having fewer illnesses, diseases and injuries
Emotional health
Emotional ʹ or mental ʹ health is linked to personal wellbeing ʹ feeling positive about yourself.
Being emotionally healthy includes:
x having self-esteem and self-respect
x being able to recognise and express feelings
x being able to manage emotions to suit the situation
x recognising and managing the factors that affect emotions
x exercise releases serotonin. Raising your levels of serotonin boosts your mood and overall
sense of well-being
Social health
Social health also contributes to wellbeing ʹ feeling positive about interactions with other people
and the wider world. Being socially healthy includes:
x being able to interact with a range of people and having a sense of belonging
x having respect, empathy and tolerance for other people
x being able to manage emotions to suit the situation
x recognising and managing the effects of actions on others
x being aware of rights and responsibilities
High Standards & High Expectations
PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL WELLBEING
From the week commencing 8th March when students returned to school
S
following the period of “stay at home”, the PE department completed the
active mile with their classes in core PE.
Students were able to understand the distance of 1 mile = 1.609344 Km
Also recognise that regular exercise can positively impact serotonin levels in
your brain. Raising your levels of serotonin boosts your mood and overall
sense of well-being. It can also help improve your appetite and sleep cycles,
which are often negatively affected by depression.
This term, students have been focusing on two of these concepts; Physical and Thinking. Activities covered since our return from the 8th
March have included football, netball, volleyball and orienteering. Students have been able to develop their knowledge, understanding and
implementation of effective strategy and tactics in order to outwit an opponent.
After Easter, students will be rotating onto summer activities through the concepts of ‘Physical and Health’.
A reminder we rotate to our summer PE uniform after the Easter Holidays and therefore students will need the following:
• Fox’s logo polo shirt • Plain navy shorts / Fox’s logo skort / Plain navy tracksuit bottoms • White socks • Trainers •
SPORTING PROFILE: DILLON MILLARD SPORTING PROFILE:
what is your sporting ambition? LIBBY ROSSITER
I would like to go sub-4-minute 1500m before I am
what is your sporting ambition?
15; but for the long term I am excited by the
To eventually make it to the international track and field
prospect of being a coach in the world of athletics
competitions such as the Diamond League or even the
or football, passing my knowledge on to help
Olympics.
improve the fitness, and quality, of other athletes. I
would also like to be able to compete in the what is your most memorable sporting moment?
Olympics and break the national records for the Going to the XC relay nationals held in Nottingham in
3000m, 1500m and, 5000m. November 2019 with my team and travelling around
England going to various track and XC competitions
what is your most memorable sporting moment?
during 2019 and the beginning of 2020.
As a young, relatively new runner I struggled to find
many sporting moments last year, as most of the where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
possibilities were shutdown due to the pandemic. I hope to be competing at a higher level than I am now
However, there was one time in year-6 where we on the track and to be going to nationals on the track
were competing in a cross-country relay that is not just in XC.
memorable. I had an injured elbow and one of our runners was unavailable, so I had
to run the first, and last leg with my left arm in a sling, were we came 3rd! what advice would you give to someone in sport?
To stick to training, it takes time to build up the skill and
where do you see yourself in five years’ time? the results usually do not come quickly so resilience is
In 5 years time, I would hope to be looking to achieve a 3:40 1500m and a sub-14- key. Also, to have only healthy comparison to other
minute 5000m. Hoping to reach the 2026 commonwealth games and/or the English athletes and to not put yourself down because they may
nationals. have a quicker time or a better PB than you.
what advice would you give to someone in sport? who is your sporting / role model?
I would say to anyone looking to go into running, or any sport in general, to make sure My sporting role model is Katarina Johnson-Thompson,
you enjoy it. If there is one aspect that I have taken away from this past year of Covid- an English heptathlete. Although she performs different
19 is that running, and sport, is a great way to escape from all the world’s fears and events to what I do, I admire her skill and her resilience
worries. I would also say to make sure you start off light, and that no beginner starts and the way she
off with a marathon, you have got to build yourself up every day, and that the adapts herself to
occasional rest day is better than 3 months off injured. perfect each event.
who is your sporting / role model? if you could attend
I find it difficult to pick just one sporting role model, as you have lots of youngsters any sporting event in
coming into running, who I really admire, such as the brilliant Elliot Giles and Jakob the world, what
Ingebrigtsen who are both very quick middle-distance runners. In addition, there are would it be?
always people like Mo Farah who has been the beacon of English long-distance Definitely the
running for some time, but I would probably have to say Hicham el Guerrouj the current Olympics, I think it’s a
1500m world record holder is my sporting role model. really amazing event to
attend and to compete
if you could attend any sporting event in the world, what would it be?
would be so different
The football world cup. The passion for football is unmatched in any other sport, and
to any other event
the atmosphere inside such a stadium with the fans would be one I would love to
there is.
experience and be a part of.
High Standards & High Expectations
H
A few examples of some Year 7 Food and Textiles work... A small sample of Year 8 Food work during lock down...
!
!
High Standards & High Expectations
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