Dear Parents and Carers,

How can it be November already? It is hard to believe that we are now motoring through the weeks until the Christmas break. Throughout this term it has been fantastic to have all of our students back in school learning  and participating in extracurricular activities. Whilst Covid-19 is still very much in our minds, and I know that it has impacted many of our students leading to periods of isolation, there is a sense of The Minster School community returning to what it was.

Since September, we have held our annual Prizegiving presentations. After a year online it was warming to have students, parents and staff together to see students receive awards for their endeavours. We have started rehearsals for our upcoming school performance of  Les Misérables, and the school sports teams have once again been competing against other schools. These events will be showcased in our newsletter which will be relaunched in the coming weeks.

In lessons, students remain focused and determined to make up for not being in the classroom during the period of lockdown. This week we had colleagues form the National C of E academy in Hucknall visit the school to talk to our students and staff and to visit lessons. They were impressed by what they saw and heard.

MSPTA

The MSPTA are an active organisation helping to raise funds for the school that is spent on improving facilities and provision. For example, recently they purchased GCSE Pod to support our students’ studies at home and are donating money to improve the facilities in the Junior School Playground.  On Friday 19^th November the MSPTA will be hosted their annual Christmas Fair. This is an opportunity for us all to get a little festive and start some Christmas shopping. There will be craft stalls, refreshments, unique gifts, music, raffle and much more. Please do come along (hosted at the school) between 6:30pm and 8:00pm. If you wish to have a stall this can still be arranged for £15 by contacting the MSPTA at MSPTA@minster.notts.sch.uk (Further details of the event are in the flyer at the bottom of the page)

Recently the MSPTA managed to raise over £6000 through the CO-OP fundraising. Thank you so much to those that choose The Minster School as your local community group. There are other ways to support the fundraising efforts listed below. Please do help where you can. 

1. 50:50 Draw: Less than a month to go until our big 50/50 draw. For £10, you could be in with a chance of winning some lovely Christmas spending money. Last term, three winners shared over £500. To join in, log into Parentmail (https://pmx.parentmail.co.uk) and go to 'Payments' then 'Shop'. The £10 entry for the 50/50 draw should appear here. Half of this fundraising goes into the prize draw, which you could win, and the remaining half benefits our pupils.  Full draw details and other ways you can support our fundraising are here: https://www.minster.notts.sch.uk/mspta

 

2. PTA Christmas draw: Feel like having a stab at winning £5000 in time for Christmas? Buy one of these raffle tickets and our school gets 50% of the ticket value while giving you 12 chances to win. It's worth a shot? Buy a dream here: https://www.bigptaraffle.co.uk/support/the-minster-school-ng25

 

3. Amazon: If you’re an Amazon shopper, there are two ways to support our school without it costing you a penny; either through the app or vis a browser. This is Amazon’s way to give something back to charities and you get to choose your preferred cause. Find out more here: https://www.minster.notts.sch.uk/mspta

 

4. Easy Fundraising: Did you know that whenever you buy anything online - from your weekly shop to your annual holiday - you could be raising a free donation for MSPTA? There are nearly 3,000 retailers including Waitrose, John Lewis, Aviva, the Trainline and Sainsburys, who will donate a percentage of the amount you spend to MSPTA to say thank you for shopping with them. Fund out more here: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/msptasouthwell

Social Media

Over the past week there have been national reports of videos being posted on social media sites such as TikTok which have targeted teachers. A link to an article in the TES which outlines the concern is here https://www.tes.com/news/deep-concern-teachers-targeted-tiktok

As a school we have been made aware that there are a few videos of this nature circulating in relation to staff at The Minster School. I am asking that you have conversations with you child and review their social media use regarding the making, following, and liking of such videos. Any student found responsible for the making or distribution of these videos will receive serious sanctions.

#AskTheAwkward

#AskTheAwark is a new online resource to help parents and carers to have regular conversations with their children regarding online relationships and more. The resource includes three short films created in a social experiment style, with real parents and their children to capture their reactions to a range of questions. The resources can be found at www.thinkuknow.co.uk

Many thanks for your continued support and keep an eye out for the newsletter towards the end of the month.

Ben Chaloner – Head Teacher