This week's mailing is:
Letters:
- To parents of boys in Lower and Middle school – Summer Sailing Courses
- To parents of Second Year boys – 3rd year induction day
- To parents of Fourth Year boys currently studying Geography – Field trip to Oxford & consent form
- To parents of Scholars in Middle school and the Sixth form – Scholars' Events
- To parents of Lower Sixth boys – UCAS Arrangements
- To parents of Lower Sixth boys – Absence for university open days & consent form
- To parents of Upper Sixth boys in Southwell-Sander's House – Reminder Southwell-Sander's leavers' meal & consent form
Notices:
Exams are fast approaching. The dates and times for results days are as follows:
- AS & A level – Thursday 17 August, results can be collected from the CMR from 8.30am to 11am, any results not collected will be sent first class post that afternoon.
- IGCSE & GCSE – Thursday 24 August, results can be collected from the CMR from 8.30am to 11am, any results not collected will be sent first class post that afternoon.
Some boys may not be able to make it in to school to collect results due to living abroad or being on holiday at the time, therefore they can arrange for them to be emailed directly. Please ask your son to send an email to [email protected], stating their name, candidate number and the email address(s), they would like the results sent to. Post results services for A level candidates opens on Thursday 17 August from 10am to 12 noon that day and Friday 18 August, Monday 21, Tuesday 22, and Wednesday 23 August from 9am to 12 noon. This service is for priority remarks, and priority photocopy of scripts. If you are a leaver and require this service you will need to pay in advance by cheque or cash. Post results services for IGCSE and GCSE candidates and all non priority A level candidates opens at the beginning of the Michaelmas term in September. The deadline for requesting a standard remark is Wednesday 20 September 2017. The breakdown of fees will be included in your results pack. Please note that remark requests cannot come from parents or teachers. The candidates must make this request themselves and are required to sign a document that states they are aware that the mark can go down as well as up.
Parents of U6 boys: University offers
U6 boys who have yet to reply to university offers made before 31 March 2017 (and whose postal address is in the EU) are being reminded that the deadline for reply to UCAS is Thursday 4 May at the latest. If a reply is not made by that date, all offers are deemed by UCAS to have been declined.
5th year revision clinics and additional revision leave
Revision leave for the 5th Year officially begins at 5.20pm on Thursday 4 May. Thereafter they will not be expected in school unless they have a public exam. As previously advertised, the School runs a revision clinic programme for the first three weeks of revision leave (i.e. up to half term) and the details of this will be published to boys (and placed on the website) next week. There are a couple of instances of public exams falling before the beginning of revision leave – French in the afternoon of Tuesday 2 May and German in the morning of Thursday 4 May . Our revision leave policy on this is that boys may take the morning off as revision leave for an afternoon exam but no additional revision leave is granted for a morning exam. Boys taking French on Tuesday 2 May are thus not expected to be in school on that day until the time of their exam. Boys doing French who wish to come into school for the morning (e.g. because they use the school bus service) should report to supervised study in G102 (or G104 if G102 is full). There is no additional revision leave granted for boys taking German in the morning of Thursday 4 May. All boys are expected to fulfil their Other Half commitments until official revision leave begins at 5.20pm on Thursday 4 May.
Sleeping and exercise during the exam term – advice from the Deputy Head (Pastoral)
As exams loom, the importance of rest and good sleep becomes paramount. Can I take this opportunity to reiterate our advice on sleeping and using screens before bed? All the research shows very clearly that being on screens before going to sleep means that the sleep you get is not as deep and therefore doesn't have the full recuperative effect. I am sure your son will tell you that he sleeps fine, but this is unlikely to be true, and would be evident were he able to measure his REM. We would recommend a “screentime” ban 50 minutes before trying to go to sleep. (Please refer to my earlier mailing dated Friday 10 Marh 2017 with Pastoral Advice to Parents for articles and further research on this.) To reiterate, we would advise no screens in your son's bedroom after an agreed time (I would suggest 9.30pm or 10pm.) However beware, he might challenge you to do the same…
Equally, it is very important that your son keeps up his endorphin levels and resists the temptation to be permanently chained to his revision. For this reason we would recommend that he keeps exercising. Hopefully this will happen through his Other Half commitments, so if there is doubt, do encourage him to continue with these. Do also encourage him to go out and exercise, whether that be a brisk walk, a run, a game of football or touch rugby, or even an ergo to show support for the Boat Club!
Monday 15 May, 7.30-8.45pm, Amey Theatre: Pastoral Evening for 3rd & 4th year parents: “Navigating the teenage years.”
Navigating the teenage years can be a bumpy road for many boys (and parents) journeying through adolescence. It is rarely plain sailing all of the time! Twenty-first-century boys face many and varied pressures that come from all angles: the media, their peers, even themselves. This is set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing and ever quickening digital world. Drawing upon our collective experience we are offering an evening with three pastoral leaders in the school to provide you with some guidance and support in helping steer your son through to flourish into wonderful young men. We are not claiming to know all the answers but offer our collective wisdom as well as anecdotal advice, drawing upon several decades of pastoral encounters with teenage boys. We will be covering topics such as: maintaining positive mental health and well-being, how to be well organised for school and exams, tackling the gauntlet of social media, dealing with the world of alcohol, parties and sleepovers (amongst others). Please sign up on the google form below if you have not yet had the chance to do so. We would love to see you there if you are free to join in the shared conversation. Please book a space using this link.
ASE Courses and Academies – booklet is now available
Abingdon Sports and Leisure Courses and Academies booklet covering all courses and qualifications from April-August 2017 is now available. The courses provide an opportunity for participants to develop new or existing skills in an environment designed and equipped to an exceptionally high standard. Available for both adults and juniors, the courses are run by qualified, experienced and DBS-checked coaches and staff. From gymnastics and music workshops, to climbing and Wattbike performance training, there is something to suit everyone. Take a look at the electronic booklet online. Further information, course dates and online booking can be found on the Abingdon Sports and Leisure Website
Abingdon News
The latest edition of the School's newsletter, Abingdon News, has been given to your son to bring home this week. Boys who are full boarders will have a copy posted home. The newsletter can also be viewed online. Any feedback regarding school publications is very welcome, please to reply email [email protected].
Music
Big Band plays at the Abingdon Jazz Festival – Friday 12 May, 6pm to 8pm at The Long Gallery, Abbey Buildings. We are delighted to have been invited to perform in this year's Abingdon Jazz Festival. The Big Band and other smaller Jazz groups will perform two 45 minute sets in one of the few remaining medieval buildings of Abingdon's Benedictine Abbey. This should be a great occasion – please reserve the date in your diaries.
Return of textbooks
Abingdon is keen to ensure that parents are not charged erroneously for textbooks that have in fact been returned. Please assist your son in following the standard procedure we have been operating for many years. Heads of department need to ensure that there are sufficient books for September, so they need to have your sons' books back before the end of this term. Many departments number each book, and record the book number. Boys are encouraged to put their name in the book, too. When the issued copy is returned by your son the head of department then knows not to charge parents for the book. If the pupil returns a copy belonging to someone else then his parents are billed for the 'missing' copy and the original 'owner' is credited with having returned his book. For boys not on revision leave, textbooks are collected by their class teacher during lesson time, but pupils who are absent for any reason need to ensure that their books are returned to their teacher before the term ends. Boys on revision leave (fifth and upper sixth) should return their books directly to the department which issued them at the latest by the Saturday before the term ends (i.e. Saturday 1 July). Some departments have labelled boxes close to the department office in which books may be left. If there is no area, boys should return the book directly to a member of staff who teaches that subject, and not just leave the book where they hope it will be found. In these circumstances it might be advisable to get a note from the member of staff confirming the receipt of the book(s). Parents should note that returning books after the end of term, including on results day, will not necessarily be sufficient to prevent a charge being placed on the bill – many heads of department will already have incurred a cost by having to reorder books in advance of the new school year.
Sport priority on a Saturday – reminder
In planning for this coming term, please observe this extract from the Parents' Handbook: Boys are expected to be available for matches against other schools unless specific permission has been sought from and granted by the Headmaster. Any request should be made well in advance, at least one week before the fixture and copied to the Director of Sport and PE, Pete Bignell. Abingdon has a strong tradition of participating in interschool fixtures across the age ranges. In recent years we have strengthened our fixture list, and been more ambitious in the schools we have been playing, and we are putting out more teams. Please avoid asking for leave of absence. We are keen the boys practise and play together, that the boys develop an allegiance to the School, and that our opponents have the best opposition we can provide.
Japan Tour Dinner – Manu Tuilagi guest speaker!
Saturday 20 May is our Senior Rugby Japan Tour black tie dinner. All parents and friends of the school are invited to attend. Please use the link to book your place as places are limited. We are very excited to have British Lion and England player Manu Tuilagi speaking and Jonty Hearnden (Cash in the attic, Antiques Roadshow) to compere the night as well as some high quality auction prizes.
Driving along Park Road and Park Crescent: 20mph
Parents are asked to adhere to the speed limit along these private roads.
Food menu for the coming week – Week 2
