Parklife - 15th March

We've reached the halfway mark for the academic year and are now less than three school weeks away from the summer term!

Time has flown by since returning from the February break with a busy few weeks behind us. Here are just a few of the things we've been up to...

• Year 11s have sat their written PPEs and are now moving quickly towards their final GCSEs. Last week we were treated to the culinary skills of our Food students following their practical exams - a favourite in the staff calendar and I think the empty plates speak for themselves!

• A group of Year 7s visited Kew Gardens last Friday as part of their Geography curriculum and had a great time despite the snowy weather! Whilst laser tagging seems to be the popular choice for rewards trips, with teams from Year 11 battling it out at Quasar and the Student Leaders heading into Labyrinth to build leadership skills.

• In collaboration with UK Cervical Cancer, SPA students featured on ITV Anglia News in an item raising awareness of HPV and the vaccine.

• 1st March was National Offer Day and we are delighted to have received our highest ever number of applications! We look forward to sharing our transition programme with our new cohort of Year 7s after the Easter break.

Wellbeing

Last week was School Wellbeing Week, for both staff and students. But it's not just during this week we focus on our mental health and wellbeing, it's part of daily life at Sewell Park.

Staff at SPA care about the mental and physical wellbeing of all our students and want to make sure they know where to turn to when needed, listening to their worries and pointing them in the right direction for further support. There are lots of resources and apps available for support and advice, many of which can be found in the wellbeing section of our website.

Plus we have our two school counsellors, Shelley and Ed. Referrals for these sessions are made through our Pastoral, Safeguarding or Raising Achievement Teams. If you'd like to know more please email our Mental Health Champion, Mr Moore.

Young Carers

Today marks national Young Carers Action Day, a day we celebrate every year at SPA in recognition of our own young carers. Approx. 6% of our students are young carers and to support these students in school we have two YC Champions, they are: Miss Lemmon, Raising Achievement Manager and Mr Gowlett, Head of Year 9.

We are proud to hold the Young Carers Friendly Tick Award, an award that recognises the support we have in place for young carers at SPA and the work we do to raise awareness of them with both staff and students.

In addition, we are pleased to host a regular Young Carer Club (held after school on a Thursday of Week A) where a number of students attend and are able to discuss their caring responsibilities and have a chance to meet with other young carers. Students who attend our Young Carers Club also help to raise awareness to other students, as part of their work they have contributed to making a young carer agreement which is displayed at the front of the school.

Last year we held a bake sale on Young Carers Action Day to raise money for our Young Carers Club. Sadly, due to the strike today, we haven't been able to mark the occasion in the same way this year. However, our YC Champions have delivered a whole school assembly explaining the role of a young carer, how they may be impacted and how they can access support. You can find out more in the Young Carers section of our website.

Coming up before the end of term

This Friday (17th) is a non uniform day to raise money for Comic Relief. An email reminder will be sent tomorrow.

Year 10s have their Work Experience next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (22nd to 24th). Any Year 10 students that haven't been able to secure a placement for next week should attend school as normal and we'll be looking for future work experience opportunities in the summer term.

STEM Event on Friday 24th March for Year 9 Triple Science and DT students.

PTFA Easter Raffle ticket sales end on 29th March with prizes being given out on the last day of term

Last day of term - Friday 31st March.

Year 11 notices

Year 11 Parents Evening is next week, on Tuesday 21st March. Invitations have been sent and we very much look forward to seeing many of you in person for this final parents evening for our current Year 11 students. Reports and PPE results will be available at the event.

Art & Textiles practical exams - between 20th and 27th April.

GCSE exams - 15th May to 20th June.

Prom - Friday 30th June, £10 due this Friday for those paying in instalments.

Leavers Assembly - date to be confirmed.

And finally, Save the Dates...

Tuesday 18th April - Year 8 Options Process Information Evening

Tuesday 2nd May - Year 8 Parents Evening

Friday 23rd June - PTFA Quiz & Chips