Cottenham Village College

Firstly, if you have not returned the petition sent out by the Cambridgeshire Schools’ Forum but you want to do so, Tuesday is the last day for this. Thank you to everybody who has returned it. If the government does introduce a national funding formula, we would expect to see a significant increase in the resources we can invest in our students in the coming years. I will keep you informed.

Thank you also to all parents and carers who attended the Year 8 parents’ evenings. It was wonderful to hear so many positive comments. I was, however, surprised to be told that I have, allegedly, banned stripy socks and even the wearing of odd socks! I was then told that there are rumours that blazers are to be introduced. Let me reassure you that we have not made any changes to our uniform and have no plans to do so in the short term. It is an issue I will wish to look at but it is not a key priority for the moment. All we ask is that students wear the correct uniform. We will be contacting you with more information about this in the coming weeks.

As I am writing this, the weather forecast for the coming weekend makes interesting reading! It is our intention to remain open, whenever possible, for those students and staff who can get here safely. If we do ever need to close the college, we will notify you via the website and local radio stations. The website will be updated as soon as we have made a decision and is, therefore, probably the best source of information.

Finally, a reminder that there is an information evening for Year 11 parents and carers at 6.30pm on Tuesday 7^th February and the inaugural meeting of the Parents’ Forum at 7pm on Wednesday 8^th.

Best wishes

Steve Ellison

Headteacher

Anglia Ruskin University are holding a taster day for year 7-11 students on Saturday 24th March 2012. If you are interested book online via www.anglia.ac.uk/uni4u or call 0845 271 3333 for more information.

Netball Club: Mondays 3.15pm - 4.15pm, all years welcome!
Just come to the sports hall at the end of school. See Miss Bussingham or Mrs Meeds if you need any further information.

Girls Fitness Club: Wednesdays 3.15pm - 4pm.
If you are interested in improving your level of fitness then come along! See Mrs Meeds if you want more information.

Year 7 ICT Homework

Parent’s Guide

Dear Parents

We are aware that some parent’s have been asking for more information about ICT homework. This guide is designed to help answer some of your questions.

The projects are designed as a complementary thread to ICT and studied in the curriculum. They do not form a formal part of the curriculum offer but are designed to improve students’ ability to use ICT more effectively and enjoyably. The projects are an effective way to encourage independent exploration of topics in ICT.

What are the tasks?

There are a wide range of tasks that students should choose from. They include programming, creative and practical tasks.

The tasks are designed to be accessible to all student abilities if they spend the required time on them.

Those students who have learning difficulties and specific permission from their teacher are permitted to access and attempt the Short Versions (a link to which is available in the menu at top left of the ICT homework page).

Where are the tasks?

The tasks are all on the school website in the Homework section (the link is on the top menu of the home page –www.cvcweb.net). Students must log on to the website to be able to view the ICT tasks.

Can parents help?

All ICT homework tasks are specifically designed with elements of optional parental participation. They can, of course, be completed with no input from parents but we have found that students enjoy them even more if you do have the time to join in.

Is homework in ICT assessed?

The homework is not a formally assessed piece of work. The work is designed to encourage independent exploration. Student work that is handed in on time will be shared and celebrated in class time.

Support from teachers

All classes will have had between a half and a full lesson introducing the homework tasks and students will have been given opportunity to explore the tasks, make their choice and ask questions of their teachers.

Staff are always available via email or chat to the students to ask questions where they need clarification. It is our experience that those students who read the whole task, follow the instructions on the website and spend the recommended time on the projects will complete the tasks extremely successfully and will enjoy the projects.

ICT 1 is open every lunchtime and is staffed by a specialist.

Recommended time

The recommended time for the projects is the equivalent to around half an hour per week per half term. i.e. students should spend between 3 and 4 hours on the project across 2 weeks.

Our experience shows that the projects cannot be satisfactorily completed in less than 2-3 hours. Consequently, students should spread their efforts across the 2 week time slot as it is very noticeable where students have attempted to cram the project in to the night before hand in day.

Students should not be spending much more than 4 hours across the 2 weeks on the projects as this may impact on homework for other subjects.

We hope this clarifies any issues you may have.

If you have further questions, please email me or your child’s teacher directly.

Mr Dan Leighton

Head of ICT

dleighton@cvcweb.net