As we enter the final two weeks of this term, we want to say a big thank you to all of you for your support and encouragement over the first full term in school since the Pandemic. There remains some threat to health and this has affected our children and young people this term. As ever, the resilience of our HVC community has come to the fore – and young people have returned to school ready to learn. Attendance continues to be a big focus for us and we thank you for sending your young people into school every day.

We are looking forward to our festive events coming up over the next few weeks. Our Festive Showcase will be held on Tuesday 13^th December from 6pm – 8pm. Tickets can be purchased on Parent Pay (£3.50 per person) and must be bought in advance of the evening. Refreshments will be provided by our wonderful PTFA – please see their cake request below! It promises to be a wonderful evening! The PTFA will also be hosting a raffle, so please bring some cash with you if you would like to buy a ticket.

On Thursday 15^th December, our students will be taking part in a carol service at St Peter’s Church in Hope and you are all invited to join us. The service will begin at 6pm and will last for approximately 1 hour. Refreshments will be available afterwards. This event is free to attend.

What’s going on in school?

• Thank you to everyone who supported the Scholastic Book Fair in the library. With the help of our excellent customers and our brilliant in-house bookshop staff, we earned nearly £400 in free books for the library, some of which are being catalogued now to go out on the shelves.

• The free books which Year 7s chose in September are now with us and will be handed out this week. These are a present from the reading charity BookTrust, subsidised by our wonderful PTFA, and they are for students to keep and enjoy. Please encourage them to read them over the next few weeks so we can do follow-up activities in the spring term.

• Our Y11 Geography students have completed their fieldwork studies on recent trips to Sheffield, visiting the city centre and Graves Park. This is a compulsory part of their GCSE course as part of their learning on fieldwork.

• On a very frosty 8th December, students in Y7 & Y8 travelled to the Steve Bloomers Ground in Derby to represent Hope Valley College in the English football league (EFL) Utilia U13 Girls Cup. The Hope Valley A team fought off some tough competition to finish third in the group stage after playing nine matches. Although we didn’t reach the finals, their spirit never wavered, and a fabulous day was had by all.

The teams are looking forward to the High Peak tournaments in the spring and we wish them the best of luck.

Christmas Lunch and Christmas Jumper Day

Our kitchen team will be serving Christmas Lunch on Monday 19^th December. Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings, a pudding and a cracker will cost £2.50. Students are also welcomed to wear Christmas jumpers to school on the Monday and the Tuesday

Christmas Bazaar

On the last day of term, Tuesday 20^th December, we will be holding our annual Christmas Bazaar in school – this is a much-loved HVC tradition and involves students in all years. This is just for students and takes place during the school day. Each form has come up with a different theme for their stall.

This is a fund-raising event so students will need to bring a small amount of cash to participate in the games. Each game will charge around 20p.

PTFA cake request!

The PTFA will be serving refreshments at the Festive Showcase on Tuesday 13^th December to help raise funds for school. We are planning to offer mulled wine and a range of refreshments, and so we are looking for all you bakers out there to donate baked goods. If you think that you could help, please email ptfahv@chorustrust.org so that we can gauge how much to expect. 

Any contributions of baked goods should be sent into school on the morning of 13^th of December.

We are aiming to separate any cakes that cater for specific dietary requirements so would appreciate a list of ingredients. If you would like any containers returned, please label them. Thank you in advance.

The PTA will also be running a raffle at the event, so please remember to bring cash if you wish to play.

 

Immunisations

The School Age Immunisation Team who will be at school on Thursday 19^th January 2023 for students in Years 7-9 to administer Flu vaccinations. Information and consent forms have been sent out to parents this week  

Seniors Christmas Lunch & Caroline Court Poppin' Club

Y10 musicians will be performing at these events next Tuesday the 13^th and Wednesday the 14^th December 2022.

Bus pass reminder from Derbyshire County Council

We have been asked to remind students that they should have a photo on their school bus pass or show their B-Line card to the driver as proof of ID.

Job vacancies

We are currently recruiting for an Exams Manager and a Catering Supervisor to join us as soon as possible. For more information and to download application forms, please see our website: Vacancies - Hope Valley College (hopevalley-chorustrust.org)

Winter Holiday Clubs 

It’s About Me is running FREE activity clubs across Derbyshire for children aged 4-16 who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals. Clubs will run for 4 days during the weeks Monday 19^th to Friday 23^rd December, Wednesday 28^th to Friday 30^th December and Tuesday 3^rd to Friday 6^th January 2023 . Each child is eligible to attend a maximum of 4 sessions during the winter school holidays. 

Activities include sports and games, arts and crafts, cookery, dance and music. Programmes will vary depending on the type and location of each local club, but every day there will be a nutritious meal served up for free! You will be able to book winter holiday clubs from Wednesday 1^st December 2022 via the website https://itsaboutmederbyshire.co.uk/ The website will be updated regularly as new providers are confirmed so if you can’t find a suitable holiday club straight away, check back regularly. 

Thank you for reading our communication. Here are some helpful email addresses, should you need to contact us: attendance@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to report a child’s absence enquiries@hopevalley.chorustrust.org for general enquiries pastoral@hopevalley.chorustrust.org for any issue with a child’s wellbeing principal@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to contact the Principal safeguarding@hopevalley.chorustrust.org to report safeguarding concerns. If a child or any young person is in imminent danger, then please report this to the police. Kind regards

Gaynor Jones, Principal 
Hope Valley College
T: 01433 620555