Dear Family,
WBCA will be taking part in its first ever Junior Maths Challenge this year. Students in Year 7 and 8 will be competing against other schools across the whole of the UK in a 60 minute challenge.
To express interest students can comment on the post on their Maths Team channel or email Miss Richards at grichards@wbca.shirelandcat.net
More information will be provided in a live meeting on Thursday 21st January at 3:30pm. A link will be provided on the Student Portal and through Maths Team Channels for students to attend.
Handwriting – Form Time Activity
During Form Time next week, students will be working on improving their handwriting as one of their academic skills. In order to do this, students will need access to a pen and paper, (preferably lined paper) to work on. It does not need to be anything fancy, just normal lined paper or a simple note pad or notebook will be sufficient. Please let us know if you need any support.
MyON – an Online Reading Library
Today we launched myON with students. This is an online platform where students have access to thousands of books. This is linked to the Accelerated Reader programme that we use in school. Please encourage your child to use it at home and to read widely and often. They should be choosing books from their ZPD range and should also complete quizzes when they finish reading a book. All students have been sent an email with their username and password and they can contact their form teacher if they need any help or cannot remember their ZPD range.
Guide for Students and Families https://help.renlearn.co.uk/myON/StudentsAndFamilies
Change to Friday Mornings – Catch-up, Wellbeing and Enrichment
We have altered our Friday morning programme so that students have time to catch up and complete any pieces of work from the week. This is to support students who may be sharing devices at home to complete all work to the best of their ability. Teachers will be on hand on Friday mornings to give any help and support to students and will remind them of any work that still needs to be completed.
Students who are up to date with all of their work should explore the Wellbeing Site on the Student Portal and/or take part in the competitions and enrichment activities that are on offer. There may be some extended projects that have been set by subjects. Students may like to read a book using MyON or use Century Tech which will be relaunched next week.
Please note – students are expected to attend Assembly at 9:00am each Friday morning and check in with their form teacher as normal.
Rewards
We are still awarding Star of the Week each week in Assembly and Mr Faux shares Showcase Work every Friday. House points are awarded for this as well as to students who hand work on time and of a high quality. Next week students will be awarded one house point per day if they attend all compulsory activities – 9am check in and Live Lessons.
Points will be added each Monday and will be back dated to the start of term. Remember to check your child’s epraise account regularly to see where they are being awarded points.
Support with Devices and Internet
If you requested a device for your child to use at home and have not been contacted please give us a call or email us next week. We will provide an update on the data allowances for those who need them as soon as possible.
Free School Meals
Children who are entitled to Free School Meals will receive another voucher through the post – please let us know if this does not arrive. If your family circumstances have changed recently, you may be eligible for Free School Meals, here is a link to apply: Free school meals | Sandwell Council
Thank you for your continued support with home learning and for speaking with our staff when they call or come to check that everything is okay. Let us know if there is anything that we can do to help. We hope you have a restful weekend.
Kind regards,
WBCA Team
