December 2019 Edition 183

Message from the Principal Thank you all for supporting us during what has been a very productive Autumn Term. As to the arrangements for the last day of term, Thursday 19th December 2019, all students will be expected to attend school as normal – lessons will run as usual and the school day will end at 3.00pm at which point all students will be dismissed. The Spring term will begin for all students at the usual time of 8.40 am on Monday 6th January 2020. Finally, on behalf of the staff, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very happy Christmas and best wishes for the New Year. Mr Butt—Principal

Poster Competition The terms poster competition winner was Mia Zimmerman. She received her £20 Touchwood voucher in assembly.

Other entries are displayed

around school.

Success for Year 11, Noor Rahman

Congratulations to Year 11 student Noor Rahman pictured with Mr Butt, Principal, who has secured a winter training place with the Warwickshire County Cricket Under 18s. Noor currently plays for Sheldon Marlborough Cricket Team and has just been selected from over 60 players to gain one of the 12 prestigious places. Noor is hoping to make county squad in the near future.

Restart your Heart Day

The 16th October, 2019 was National “Re-start a Heart Day”. West Midlands Ambulance Service came to Lyndon to enable our students to participate.

The aim was to get as many students CPR trained as part of a world record attempt. The Initiative is to teach as many young people CPR to improve chances of saving lives in later life. We know as a school how this has impacted already on some of our younger stu-dents and the help they were able to give since having this training is commendable.

It was a very successful day with 700 + students and staff being trained. Miss Peachey

Christmas Card Competition

Sana Asma was the winner of the Christmas card competition.

Christmas is a time of giving and here at Lyndon, I always feel that The

Shoebox appeal is the start of Christmas and this year you have given

so much! Far beyond my expectations.

We have filled an incredible 303 shoeboxes, which arrived on 10th

December 2019, via the charity Teams4U to Romania.

So many beautifully packed boxes, each one packed with love to bring

happiness to some unknown child.

One of the joys of the Shoebox Appeal is how it brings us all together.

Students, Staff , Parents & wider families all get involved. The atmosphere in

school when we collect the boxes in is electric, and students really enjoy telling

me what they have put in their boxes.

Whilst our students are here to get an academic education it is also important

that they grow up to be caring individuals, caring of the community around

them. I am incredibly proud of everyone who helped and contributed to the ap-

peal. No matter if you gave a few items or lots.

Everything will be cherished by the child who receives it. Except perhaps for

the sweets which will be gone in a flash!

Mrs Wallace’s tutor group (8WEF) were

tremendously committed and filled an

incredible 50 boxes.

In the five years since we have been filling

shoeboxes we have now donated a total

of 1300 boxes, which have gone to

Somalia & Romania. This shows the

Power of Love .Thank you.

Mrs Redpath

2019 SHOEBOX APPEAL

EVENTS & NEWS

Year 8 Basketball Well done to our year 8 basketball team who on 21st November played their first ever competitive game! The result didn’t go our way, despite a fantastic team effort. Lots to work on in training before our next game! Well done!

Year 9 Netball

Well done to the year 9 netball team on their 4th win today against Grace Academy (21-0). Fantastic effort by all.

Young Writers Publication Congratulations to the students named below on the effort and motivation they showed and the success to being invited to share their work in the next Young Writers publication, well done to all!

Well done once again and long may your

success continue.

Ayaan Hussain, Charlie Day, Manal Shuja,

Tamara Reynolds, Maryam Zaheer, Zaki Hasan,

Zahra Jones, Raielle Moffatt, Kaaya Das,

Kainem Hamilton, Laila Bennett, Isaac Fee,

Layna Hussain, Sam Lees, Abigail Unlu,

Prince Singh, Paisley Youlden, Thomas Powell,

Charlotte Brant, Chelsy Potter-Concannon,

Aver Norbury, Eleanor Lane, Solomon Hussain,

Leah Burrows, Lewis Humphries, Connor Probyn,

Daniel McBride, Sanya Faisal, Aairah Ahmed,

Lydia Williams, Tom Carlin, Nathan Cassidy.

Principal’s Pick of the Week Shfaa Qaiser Year 7, Romaya Thomas Year 8,

Usman Ali Year 11, Sean Brookes Year 11

Year 11

The online shop is now open and Y11 Leavers Hoodies can be purchased by using the following link:

http://wav.ee/lyndonhoodies2020

If there are any problems with the online shop please contact Kelly Sharpe at Waveprint on 0121 454 9441.

All orders are done directly with this company via their website only. The hoodies will be delivered into school after the online shop has been closed. The cost is £19.50 plus any additional letters.

Please do not contact the school regarding any issues.

Year 11 PROM FRIDAY 26th. June 2020

Parent pay is now open and the cost is £36.00. This covers the cost of the Westminster Suite, food, decorations and the Disco. We look forward to as many students attending as possible and we hope to see friends and families on the night. The venue is The Hilton Metropole Hotel at the NEC.

Students should arrive between 7pm and 8pm and the PROM will finish at midnight. Please be aware that students and parents need to make arrangements to be collected at midnight to avoid any concerns about getting home safely. Taxis should be booked well in advance to avoid having to wait at a busy time.

Year 11 Leavers’ Assembly

This will take place after all GCSE exams have been completed. We will let everyone know as soon as possible before the PROM.

To avoid students missing out please consider these dates before booking family holidays.

Thank you and we all look forward to celebrating with our students at the end of their 5 years at Lyndon. Mr. Finn

Engineering Opportunity

Sophie, Anika and Abbie who are all female engineers from Arup Group visited Lyndon School to work with our Year 7 and Year 8 students on wind turbines and renewable energy, this was a great experience for all.

Top 5 Users of Century Osman Mohammed Year 7, Suleman Mohammed

Year 7, Laaiqah Arif Year 11, Nikita Parmar Year

11, Shfaa Qaiser Year 7.

President of the Solihull Chamber of Commerce, Robert Elliot Visit Great to have Robert Elliot in school again . A truly positive and aspirational careers and LMI assembly to our Year 7 students. Robert has now spoken to students in all year groups, so a massive thank you from us and we will see you and your colleagues again in the new year.

EVENTS & NEWS

Motionhouse Careers Day

On Thursday the 21st November, 25 students were chosen to attend a trip to Motionhouse Dance company in Leamington Spa to find about opportunities and careers in Performing Arts. The students were then lucky enough to take part in a practical workshop with some of the professional dancers to learn a little bit more about the company. The stu-dents all left excited about their future careers in the Arts.

Dohl Drums On Thursday 7th November, 3 students visited Yarnfield Primary School to perform on the Dohl drums as part of their Diwali celebrations.

Rashandeep and Gurpreet (Year 9’s) played to the students and taught members of staff how to play. Kulvinder (Year 8) taught a small group of children with one of them playing to his peers in the hall.

Autumn Show

Congratulations to all of the students who took part in this term school production. The work was an outstanding of work created in extra curricular clubs and students own creations.

The whole of the Performing Arts Team were very proud of all of the students involved.

Lights...Camera...Action for Year 10 & 11 Media Students!

On Wednesday 13th November, 36 GCSE Media Studies students from Lyndon visited the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) for a cinema event taking part in the Into Film Festival, an annual event offering free film screenings and talks to students across the UK. They were treated to a special viewing of ‘Booksmart’ a teen coming-of-age comedy, followed by a talk with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to discuss the issues within the film and how it got it’s age rating. It was an educational and cultural experience for all involved and also fed into the GCSE course, giving students a real life taste of the film industry in action.

Thanks to Mr Thorogood, Miss Jabeen & Mr Reid for facilitating the trip! - Mr Spurr

Year 11 Catering exam Some of the food produced by year 11’s for their Catering Exam.

INFORMATION

Students leaving during the school

day

If your child needs to leave school during the school day

for an appointment, please send your child with the

appointment letter or note to excuse them from lesson

and to show at reception.

Please remind students that if they feel unwell during the

school day, they must visit First Aid or their

Pastoral Manager to contact home. They must not call

home using their own mobile phones.

School Reception Please note that Reception opening times are:

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 8.00 am—

4.00pm

Tuesday 8.00 am—3.00 pm

Friday 8.00 am—3.00 pm

Please ensure that students are picked up from

School promptly.

Parking outside School May we remind parents and carers that if you arrive by car to meet your children after school to please park con-siderately.

Vehicles are not allowed on the premises unless you have a prior agreed appointment.

Thank you for your co-operation.

KEY DATES & TERM DATES Key Dates

Term Ends 19.12.19

Staff Training Day (students not in school) 20.12.19 Term Starts 06.01.20 Year 7 Parents’ Evening 14.01.20 Year 11 Apprenticeship Session 1 15.01.20 (4.15pm)

Year 11 Apprenticeship Session 2 29.01.20 (3.00-4.30pm)

Year 9 Student Vaccinations 29.01.20 & 30.01.20 Options Evening 04.02.20 Year 10 Parents’ Evening 11.02.20 Half Term 17.02-21.02.20 Year 11 Parents’ Evening 25.02.20

ATTENDANCE Last academic year attendance was above the national average for the first time at 94.7% (NA 94.5%).

There is still much work to do! We want to work with all parents to improve students’ attendance to a

minimum of 97% and to prepare them for the wider world of work. We do recognise that children can be ill

sometimes but we ask that you continue to work in partnership with us and always keep us fully informed of

absences. This year we will send you an attendance update letter termly.

As you will also be aware, we only authorise leave of absence for students in ‘exceptional circumstances’. If

you do need to apply for this, you can request a form from reception. However, we should be clear that any

holidays or extended trips will be unauthorised, as the expectation is that holidays/trips abroad are booked

within school holidays.

· Regular attendance at school means that your child can make the most of their education, improving their opportunities later in life. · School can also help your child develop their social skills such as making and maintaining friendships. · A regular and punctual attendance pattern will help your child when they enter the world of work. · Research has shown a clear link between good attendance at school and the quality of the qualifications that students achieve. · For every 17 days your child is absent their GCSE results will potentially drop by a whole grade (DfE research).