Swan-Bites is a twice-weekly college bulletin for parents/carers. If you have any difficulties viewing Swan-Bites on a mobile device, please try a desktop/PC. We welcome any feedback or concerns via enquiries@swanmore-sec.hants.sch.uk 

All Pupils

An Evening with the Arts

Any pupils performing in the ‘Evening with the Arts’ production this evening need to arrive at school at 6pm and be collected at 9.10pm after the end of the performance please. There will be refreshments and homemade goodies available to purchase beforehand and during the interval. Please note that we can only accept cash payment for these.

Café Service Next Week

Please be advised, there will be no food available during the lunch break service all next week, from Monday 16 December – Friday 20 December 2024 due to the Christmas Lunches taking place. If your child is not participating in the Christmas Lunch events, alternative lunch items will be available to purchase from your child’s usual food point during the morning break only, when there will be a larger menu available. This also applies to pupils in receipt of Free School Meals.

End of Term Arrangements

We would like to remind you about the arrangements for next week. Christmas Lunches and celebration assemblies will be taking place for each year group as follows:

Monday 16 December – Year 11

Tuesday 17 December – Year 10

Wednesday 18 December – Year 9

Thursday 19 December – Year 8

Friday 20 December – Year 7 (will have their lunch during period 4: 11.45-1240)

Pupils are encouraged to wear something ‘Christmassy’ on Friday 20 December 2024. This is not a non-uniform day; pupils are still expected to wear their normal College uniform with a token Christmas gesture. This might be one of the following:

• a jumper
• earrings
• a hat
• socks
• a piece of tinsel

Friday 20 December 2024 will be an early finish with pupils leaving site at 12:40pm. Our transport operators have been informed and will be on site to collect pupils at this time. Please note that any pupils who travel on the 649 Stagecoach public bus service will need to make alternative arrangements for getting home early, as Stagecoach are unable to amend the collection time from 3.00 pm to 12.40 pm.

Kooth

With the winter break fast approaching, at Kooth Digital Health they appreciate there will be some young people who may struggle during the holidays without access to the daily pastoral support, trusted adults and friends that the school community provides. Equally, seasonal illness and the closure of many services at this time of year can lead to extended wait times across both adult and young people's NHS and community services.

For this reason, Kooth believes it is important to highlight to pupils and the school's parent body that their services remain open for them to access at any time over the winter period. Please see letter for more details. Information is also available on their website here: www.kooth.com

Snapchat – National College Guide

Recent user numbers for the messaging app Snapchat currently sit at approximately 800 million 📈 and figures from data gathering company Statista indicate that roughly 20% of those users are under 18.

That’s a lot of young people participating in this sprawling social media platform, many of whom are potentially unaware of the associated risks. 

It can be tricky to know how to safeguard younger users on Snapchat 📸 but the attached guide aims to show you how, while also giving you in-depth knowledge of the online safety risks posed by this platform. You can also listen to the podcast here: What Parents and Educators Need to Know about Snapchat

Year 7, 8 & 9

Your child will be issued with their first report for this academic year on Monday 16 December 2024. At this time, reports will be provided for all pupils in Year 7, 8 and 9. For information on how to read the reports, please see here: Swanmore School - Assessment and Reporting

All reports are delivered electronically through the SIMs Parent App. If you are experiencing issues on the app, please use the browser version on a PC or laptop, which can be accessed here: https://www.sims-parent.co.uk/. If you are still having trouble logging-in, please send an e-mail to: SIMS-Parent-Help@swanmore-sec.hants.sch.uk

Year 10

There are no specific items for Year 10 only.

Year 11

College Applications

 A gentle reminder that all year 11 pupils should have applied to at least one college before they return in January. We will be asking all pupils their first choices in the New Year via a Google form. Those who have not applied or who are looking for support with alternative colleges or apprenticeship applications will be supported with time to meet our careers advisor after the mock exams.

Mock Exams

The final set of mock exams for Year 11 pupils will be taking place from Friday 10 January to Thursday 30 January 2025. The full exam timetable can be found on the website here: https://www.swanmore-school.co.uk/pupils/exams

Please note that any external clubs / events that are advertised here are not endorsed by or directly affiliated with Swanmore College in any way.