Weekly Information Friday 12th January 2024

Hot Chocolate with the Head

Friday 12^th January 2024

Mrs Cochrane is ending her first week back after Christmas on a high after spending break time with 6 students who have all been nominated by staff, students and parents for going above and beyond this week.

As the students came into the office their faces lit up as they were welcomed with a choice of chocolate bars and mugs of hot chocolate to tuck into.

Josh (Y7) opened the conversation and told the group about his DJ business which he runs out of school. Because of his talents and skills, it was a delight for Josh to be asked to DJ at JTHS’s anti-bullying event in the hall. Josh really did himself proud with his carefully selected playlists. We wish you all the success with your business and future DJ’ing opportunities at the school.

Next, Jeffrey (8H) told the group about his individual contribution to charity where he raised an impressive £359 for Children in Need. Mrs Cochrane announced his final total which Jeffrey was delighted with. Jeffrey decided to do  ‘Guess the weight of the bear’, which was a popular idea with many people getting involved. Jeffrey has demonstrated our Core Value of kindness and we are proud of his charitable efforts and passion for fundraising.

It was a pleasure to hear why our next pupil Esme (Y7) had been nominated. Esme is the school’s 14^th Accelerated Reader Word Millionaire of the year which is a fantastic achievement. Mrs Cochrane emphasised the importance of literacy and how it runs through every subject throughout school. Esme enjoyed sharing her favourite genre of book with the group which was factual literature as she finds it highly interesting. Well done Esme, Mrs Cochrane is very proud of you.

Next up was Sam (Y9) and George (Y10) from our school Chemistry Team who were nominated for their fantastic efforts at the ‘Top of the bench’ competition where they’ve been invited to the Regional Final.  The competition held at Birmingham University includes several activities including a test of factual chemistry knowledge, a team practical exercise and an interactive lecture. Both Sam and George are excited to be taking part in the upcoming final and getting the chance to explore Birmingham University and meet key speakers. Mrs Cochrane emphasised what an achievement this was for Sam, George and the rest of the team and how wonderful it was to see their passion for Chemistry growing. Thank you to all those involved and for representing John Taylor High School.

Our last pupil who shared their story was Jessica (Y8) who was nominated for participating in the Geography Subject Excellence programme, an initiative run by the JTMAT across a number of schools. Jessica explained more about the project and how she was tasked with writing a proposal for building new houses in the local area whilst taking into consideration the risks. Mrs Cochrane presented Jessica with her well-deserved JTMAT participator certificate. Well done to you!

As the group began to finish their hot chocolates, we took the opportunity to take a group picture (see below). We hope our students enjoyed this time with Mrs Cochrane and want to wish them all the success for the future in the skills they have demonstrated.

If you’d like to nominate a student who has demonstrated one of our core values or has gone above and beyond in both their school or home life, please contact [email protected].

The following students celebrated their achievements with Mrs Cochrane this week, congratulations to them all! 

Joshua		7A
Jeffrey		8H
Ellie		11J
George		10S
Sam		9J
Alice		9O
Sophie		7A
Esme		7Y
Jessica		8T
Jessica		8Y

JTMAT_Exceptional_Achievement_Nomination_Form.docx

We wanted to share some work our Year 7s produced at the end of last term in French. The art is called Calligramme which Guillaume Apollinaire, a French man was famous for creating poetry using this medium. The students were tasked with creating a Holiday Scene using French vocabulary. 

This was was the chosen winner by Mrs Roe. Well done!

*** Only for Year 7 students that have already secured a place on the trip. This information was also sent directly to parents/carers on Wednesday 10th January ***

I do hope you had a wonderful holiday and your students have enjoyed their first few days back with us at John Taylor High School. As our Year 7 Residential is around two months away I wanted to bring your attention to three key next steps.

1) Outward Bound Enrolment Form:  

All attendees are required to complete an enrolment form. 

The link should be accessed here: Outward Bound Participant Form

Although, as parents/carers, you are likely to be completing this on behalf of the student please ensure it is their name and details that you are enrolling. (Last year we had several parent’s names registered!)

This should take around 15 minutes to complete. Please do this at your earliest convenience and by Thursday January 25^th to allow for Outward Bound Staff to contact you for further details if required.

2) Year 7 Residential: Online Information Event – Monday January 22^nd at 6pm.
A recording of the session will be circulated around after the event if you are unable to join live.

Zoom Meeting Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84227075791?pwd=a2w2V3Jnd21vVzVZRTRocmtVNUQ1QT09

Meeting ID: 842 2707 5791

Passcode: JohnTaylor

3) Dorm Requests:

We offer the students the opportunity to name 1 or 2 students that they wish to be placed in a dorm group/activity group with. Dorm rooms are a mixture of 4 & 6 bed dorms and Activity groups are 12.

When naming other students it is extremely useful for students to

- corroborate and name each other if they really want to be placed with specific children.

- try to ensure the name they are supplying is of a student who is attending the trip.

- try to ensure they use the other student’s correct full name (no nicknames, or “Jack” etc.)

Students must not try to create a chain of students by 1 student selecting 2 students who then requests another 2 students and so on. This does not work and may leave students disappointed.  

Please note that The Outward Bound Trust groups dormitories by sex and not gender and therefore dorms will be split male and female.

To complete the Dormitory/Activity Group request form please do so by following this link: https://forms.office.com/e/rxDBVTC9V5

Please do this also by Thursday January 25^th as behind the scenes I then have the biggest game of sudoku you can imagine by sorting the students into dorm groups and activity groups prior to arrival!

Any issue or questions please do get in touch.

Kind regards,
Mr Simmons - Trip Leader
[email protected] 

Many thanks to parents who donated goods for the Christmas Hampers. Myself and the charity leader for Year 8 raffled the hampers at the Christmas Concert and raised £177 for the local charity Miles For Smiles. 

Thank you also to those who bought the raffle tickets and contributed towards this great cause. 

Miss Bale

The 16–19 Discretinary Bursary Fund is a government-provided, means-tested fund available to support students who have difficulty in meeting costs relating to their studies. To qualify, you must be under 19 years of age on 31st August in the academic year in which you start your programme of study, and you will be expected to provide evidence of personal and/or financial hardship. Each case will be assessed individually, however, usually this would be based on a household income of £27,000 or less, plus any benefits you are in receipt of at this point in time.  

For further information, please see the guidance and application form using the following link John Taylor High School (jths.co.uk).

If you have queries please do not hesitate to get in touch [email protected]

Thank you

The Sixth Form Team

Make UK Technology Hub Open Day. 

? What: Apprenticeship Open Day Open Day 

? When: 3rd February 2024, 9:30am - 12:00pm

? Where: Make UK Technology Hub, Aston 

Why should your students consider joining us? 

Hands-On Learning: Your students will have the chance to dive into the fascinating world of engineering and manufacturing through interactive workshops and demonstrations. 

Meet Industry Influencers: Connect with professionals from some of the country's top employers. They'll share valuable insights about apprenticeships and potential career paths in the field. 

Apprenticeship Insights:

• Apprenticeships offer a genuine, earn-as-you-learn experience, providing a steady income while acquiring practical skills.
• The demand for skilled engineers is on the rise, with plenty of room for growth and advancement in the industry. 

Exclusive Peek into the Future: Gain a firsthand look at the latest technologies shaping the industry's future. 

We believe in nurturing the next generation of engineers, and your students play a crucial role in that journey.  

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or if your students are eager to secure their spots.

Apprenticeship Open Evening

Date: 6 February 
Time: 16:30 - 19:00 (Pop in and out whenever suits ​you)
Location: CMS London or CMS Sheffield (whichever suits you best) 

Join us for an open evening at either our CMS London or Sheffield office to hear more about our Apprenticeship offerings and network with our colleagues across the office over drinks and canapes.

We currently offer the following apprenticeships: Solicitor Apprenticeships, Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeships, Paralegal Apprenticeships, Secretarial Apprenticeships and Apprenticeships across Business Services.

Our Virtual Routes into STEM Course is still open for applications.  This course is an excellent opportunity for students in Years 9 & 10 who would like to find out about the various educational pathways into a STEM career and will run until 2 August 2024.  Students can join and complete this course flexibly (approx. time to fully complete is 20 hours). We have some exciting live sessions coming up this month for students who are registered on this course which includes – A STEM Professionals panel and Careers Skills session – to view the full timetable click here - Live Sessions Timetable.  

There is a fee to attend our courses, but we do have a number of bursary places available so please do encourage interested students to make an application.