27 April 2012
All students at James Calvert Spence College have now been enrolled in the school's own Accelerated Reader website. Accelerated Reader is an internationally recognised system of promoting and encouraging reading for students of all ages which has had some very impressive results with improving literacy rates in Britain and the US.
Students can log on to Accelerated Reader via Moodle and from there they can access 30,000 quizzes about books they have read. This will then help them with recommendations for future reading and the information on how students perform in tests will also be relayed to their English teacher who can use it as part of assessment of reading ability. However the great advantage of the system is that it allows the school to recognise those students who are following the most important bit of advice we give in English - READ FICTION REGULARLY! This is the best way to improve your literacy rate outside of English lessons and now we will be able to track who is reading what and issue praises and prizes for those who show through Accelerated Reader quizzes that they are reading books at the right level and understand those books.
Parents can help students with this by encouraging them to read widely and, if a birthday or reward is due, you can buy them books and check that those books have relevant quizzes on Accelerated Reader by going to this website: www.arbookfind.co.uk
This site will also give parents crucial information about the book's level of difficulty and the age range the content is appropriate for. It can also provide you with ideas for books which your son or daughter might enjoy.
If you have any questions about this please do not hesitate to get in touch with Mr Eyeington via the school's admin email.
27 April 2012
On Monday 30th April there will be some changes to Year 9, 10 and 11 English classes. The purpose of the change is to ensure that all students are taught by specialist English teachers during a period of staff sickness. The vast majority of these classes will remain as classes of less than 20 students which allows staff more time to focus on each individual student's needs.
I would like to take this opportunity to urge all of the students in these classes to redouble their efforts and remind them that everything they do in English contributes to their GCSE grade. Remember this is GCSE English - it is hard to overstate how important this subject and qualification is to your future!
If you have any concerns about this as a student or as a parent of a student at the school please do not hesitate to get in touch with Mr Eyeington either by phone or via the school's admin email address.
Mr Eyeington
17 April 2012
Interested in becoming a parent governor?
Schools are fascinating places and being a governor can be very enjoyable and worthwhile. Governors come from all sections of the community: parents, staff at the school, businesses and local community representatives - in fact almost anyone. There is always a need for enthusiastic and committed people to serve as governors.
We are currently looking for two parent governors to fill newly vacated positions
You don't need any special qualifications or professional skills - just a commitment to help the college do the best it can for all of our children. You will play an important role in the life of the college as you are accountable for, and have a responsibility for, the work of the school.
Governors are supported by the Local Authority (LA) which provides a wide range of support services, information and materials. The LA works to ensure that the crucial role that governors play in the life of schools is recognised and understood.
If you are interested in becoming a parent governor for this college, please look out for the letter that will be posted home to all our student’s homes shortly. If you require further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. You can call the Executive Headteacher’s assistant on 01665 710636, Ext 204, or email her on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
29 March 2012
Dear Parent,
Home to school transport contracts currently in place to get entitled children to and from JCSC are due to expire at the end of this academic year. Northumberland County Council are therefore engaged in an exercise to re-tender these contracts which is a requirement under the Public Contract Regulations 2006. This could result in changes to transport providers as well as some changes to boarding and alighting times. These changes will take effect from the start of the new academic year in September. If you have any concerns or wish to discuss these matters in greater detail then please contact the school transport team at County Hall. The email address is: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or tel 0845 6006400.
