Annwyl pawb
Our Head Students and Prefects represented the School at Monmouth’s cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday last weekend, laying a wreath in remembrance of those who gave their lives in conflict. It is an important and poignant community event in which students, staff and governors are proud to play a part. We were also very proud to see MCS students attend in their other roles in the community – cadets, scouts, guides and other community groups.
There has been recent discussion both at school and elsewhere about the role of schools in promoting civic participation. You may have noted from last week’s newsletter that we took part in UK Parliament Week, along with over a million young people across the UK. Students at MCS learnt about our parliamentary democracy and the importance of registering to vote, which is especially timely for those who live in Wales, who can vote in Senedd elections and local elections from the age of 16. In my view it is the responsibility of schools to promote political participation and understanding amongst their students - rarely has this aspect of education been more important and apposite than now. In recent times we have invited our local MP, town councillors, county councillors and local Senedd members to engage with students in a variety of ways, and we are always delighted when they agree to do so. The visits have been from those with a range of political persuasions and parties, lest anyone be concerned that we are not being even-handed in our approach. I hope that in the UK general election that will take place in due course, we will see even more engagement with young people from those that seek public office. Most of our students will not be able to vote in that election, but it is our educational and moral responsibility to introduce students into civic participation and respectful, appropriate political debate.
Finally, I want to let you know that we will be focussing on the importance of punctuality to lessons with students next week. Being prompt to lessons ensures that students can make the most progress in their learning, including the important ‘retrieval practice’ (otherwise known as the Do Now task) that we have as one of our Habits of Teaching at MCS. There is a wonderful quote by Professor Willingham about this: “Memory is the residue of thought.” The more we can develop student ability to recall and apply prior learning, the better their future progress and achievement will be. It is therefore vital that all students are in all of their classes on time, and we dismiss students a few minutes before the end of the previous lesson in order to support this. In addition, if students are even just 5 minutes late to every lesson, they lose out on 10% of the potential learning time across the day, which is ½ a day a week and a somewhat astonishing whole month of school across a single school year. This is why we are so persistent in promoting punctuality to lessons as well as attendance to school. May I ask that you discuss your child’s punctuality to lessons with them? We find that when conversations happen at home in partnership with those going on in school, it has a significantly positive impact on students.
I wish you all the best for a restful weekend.
Hugo Hutchison
Headteacher
The MCS team performed brilliantly, giving excellent performances from witnesses facing intense cross-examination to barristers giving powerful opening and closing speeches. The ushers and clerks dealt expertly with court admin and jury members decided on the verdict.
