WEEKLY EMAIL Friday 24 April 2020

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Safeguarding children and families

As we continue through this lockdown period, it is clear that most children will be spending more time than usual on their mobile phones and on social media sites. Whilst these provide great platforms for enabling conversations and for socialising, this increased online activity can also bring additional potential risks. Please take the time to read some guidance for parents on keeping your children safe online at CEOP and NSPCC. These websites are full of useful information to help you recognise the dangers, the types of online child abuse and the possible signs to be aware of.

There have also been concerns raised in the news about the increased likelihood of Domestic Abuse during a period of lock-down. You can find more information together with details of how to get help or support here.

We have added a page to our website that includes more information on keeping safe and also gives some other forms of support such as who to contact if there is domestic abuse in the household. Visit our website

Contacting school and teaching staff

If you or your children need to contact teaching staff during the school closure, all of their email addresses can be found here. From next week, there will also be a link on the home page of the school website for ease.

If you have a query that does not relate to teaching / specific subjects, please contact the School Office using the email address: admin@millthorpeschool.co.uk and they will direct your query.

Microsoft Office

Students at Millthorpe can access free Microsoft Office software for the duration of their time at school. It can be installed on up to five devices.

Your son/daughter will just need to know their username which is theirnetworkusername@millthorpeschool.co.uk (ie 0woodworth@millthorpeschool.co.uk or 3binky@millthorpeschool.co.uk) and their password, which is their school network password.

Anyone who has forgotten their password should contact Mr Ward.

Full instructions for downloading and installing Microsoft Office can be found here.

Blutick Maths Competition

The website Blutick is running a maths competition for the whole country with prizes for individuals who answer the most questions and for the schools who have the most participants. We got the exciting news that Millthorpe is one of the top 20 schools in the country so far! Well done to all who have taken part – keep answering those questions. If you haven’t taken part yet, go to the website and log on to keep Millthorpe at the top!
Many thanks to our Maths department for organising it.

National Theatre performances

Parents/carers and students can access a number of fantastic performances on the National Theatre website using the school’s user credentials. Visit Drama Online and then follow the login procedures – full details on how to do this can be found here.

Good news stories

We know there are some amazing activities and initiatives taking place during the lockdown, involving our students and the Millthorpe community. One such story covered in the York Press this week, featured Year 10 student, Luke Smith, who took on the challenge of climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain, from his own home. A great achievement which raised more than £700 for the NHS and homeless charities.

Please do send us your news, achievements and projects to news@millthorpeschool.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you!

WEEKLY EMAIL Friday 17 April 2020

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Message from the Head of School

I hope that you and your families are keeping well and that you have managed to have some quality time together during the Easter break.

Teachers will be continuing to ensure that there is work set for your children on ClassCharts from Monday. Should you need to contact any teachers with any questions, they will be available by email.

Whilst I am confident that most students and families are following social distancing guidelines, can I remind everyone that socialising with anyone outside of your household is not permitted. Please do not allow your children to meet their peers in outside spaces. If school is contacted to say that students are doing this, we will be obliged to contact the Police.

Please be safe to protect all of our community.

With very best wishes

G Greenhalgh

Community Hubs

As part of the city’s co-ordinated response to the COVID-19 emergency, there are now nine community hubs operating across York. The hubs, which are partly staffed by volunteers, are there to support vulnerable people and families across the city, including the provision of food and medicine for residents who are self-isolating.

People keen to help and volunteer are being asked to sign up to volunteering@york.gov.uk or call 01904 551550, or go to www.york.gov.uk/COVIDVolunteering.

Vulnerable people needing help because they are directly affected by coronavirus and have no other source of help should email our Community Support Coordinators at covid19help@york.gov.uk or call 01904 551550.

Find out more about the community hubs

Health advice for parents during the Covid-19 pandemic

Whilst coronavirus is infectious to children, it is rarely serious. If your child is unwell, it is likely to be a non-coronavirus illness, rather than coronavirus itself. Whilst it is extremely important to follow government advice to stay at home during this period, it can be confusing to know what to do when your child is unwell or injured.

Remember that NHS 111, GPs and hospitals are still providing the same safe care that they have always done. If you are not sure if your child is unwell and whether they need to be seen by someone, take a look at the criteria on the Healthier Together website to help you decide.

Family Matters – online courses

The team at Family Matters York are offering a range of online courses, starting next week. These include:

  • Time Out for Parents – the Teenage Years
  • Time Out for Parents – the Early Years
  • Time Out for Parents – the Primary Years
  • Handling Anger in the Family

You can find out more about the courses here. To book a place please contact Helen Atkinson on 07393 147259 or email helenatkinson@fmy.org.uk

Mental health and wellbeing 

The Recovery College provides a range of online educational courses and resources to people with experience of mental illness, from service users to their families, friends and staff. There is a comprehensive section on their website for young people, covering a number of topics including bereavement, bullying, eating disorders, depression and anxiety amongst others.

Ofqual – how grades will be awarded this summer 

Year 11 students and parents and carers should have already received an email explaining how GCSEs will be awarded this year and how, as a school, we will contribute to that. We hope that the video was helpful in ensuring that you understand how the process works and that you can be reassured that the school will do everything that we can do to support our students’ success.

York Music Hub online

York Music Hub announces the launch of #YMHShare. This online forum features music making and creativity from the young people of York, celebrating all the fantastic talent within our city. It is for anyone who has had a concert cancelled, a festival pulled, an exam postponed or anyone who’s using this time to work on being musical.

So much hard work has gone in to school productions, concerts, and all kinds of events and #YMHShare offers a virtual alternative.

From Monday 20 April, York Music Hub is also launching YMH Online Learning. This will be a dedicated section of #YMHShare where downloadable resources, Youtube live and Zoom music making sessions will be posted for anyone to get involved with. These will be kicking off with the York Music Hub Zoom Choir which will be led by Jessa Liversidge. This will take place on Monday 20 April at 3:15pm.

Other online sessions available are:

  • Singing for all @ The Hub
  • Ukulele Stars Tuition
  • GCSE/A Level Zoom Composition Sessions for KS 4 & 5

For further information please email: info@yorkmusichub.org.uk

Open Day at Westrow Academy 

Westrow Academy’s open day that was due to take place on Monday 20 April has now been rescheduled and will now take place on Monday 29 June 2020, from 4.00-7.00pm.

Find out more here

WEEKLY EMAIL Friday 3 April 2020

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Expectations at Easter

As we begin a very unusual Easter break, I thought it was important to share our expectations during this period.

It is important that teachers and students have a break from work and can try to enjoy some time with their family.

There is no expectation that students will complete any work over the Easter period. There will be some school work available should students wish to access it but it will be more limited than in term time weeks.

Teaching staff will be unavailable during this time. It has been a very challenging term and, although some teachers will continue to work in the holidays as part of our role as key workers, they will not be available to respond to emails. It is really important they have some time to spend with their loved ones.

I hope that you all manage to get some quality family time at Easter and keep yourselves safe and well.

Gemma Greenhalgh
Head of School

Safeguarding children and families

As we continue through this lockdown period, it is clear that most children will be spending more time than usual on their mobile phones and on social media sites. Whilst these provide great platforms for enabling conversations and for socialising, this increased online activity can also bring additional potential risks. Please take the time to read some guidance for parents on keeping your children safe online at CEOP and NSPCC. These websites are full of useful information to help you recognise the dangers, the types of online child abuse and the possible signs to be aware of.

There have also been concerns raised in the news about the increased likelihood of Domestic Abuse during a period of lock-down. You can find more information together with details of how to get help or support here.

We have added a page to our website that includes more information on keeping safe and also gives some other forms of support such as who to contact if there is domestic abuse in the household. Visit our website

Universal Credit and free school meals

If any parents/carers are currently claiming Universal Credit and awaiting a response, please do let us know, as we can expedite the process internally and supply the family with vouchers for free meals.

Mental health and wellbeing

Kooth.com provides online mental health services for children, young people and adults. It is an online counselling and emotional well-being platform for children and young people, accessible through mobile, tablet and desktop and is completely free. Please take a look if you need support with your own mental health and wellbeing or if you need some guidance on how best to help someone else.

Weekly email

As it is Good Friday next week, we will not be sending a weekly email on Friday 10 April. We will of course keep you updated with any important news or developments as necessary.