Last week was a big adjustment for staff and pupils returning to face to face learning after another long period of home learning. It has been a pleasure to have pupils back on school site and we are proud to see our young people engaging so positively. 
 
Please remember that although we are moving towards a return to ‘normal life’, there are still some rules in place that are there to support the safety of our whole community. This includes the wearing of face coverings for everyone attending our school site, and also ensuring social distancing is followed – including when dropping off or collecting your children from school. For this transition back to face to face learning to be a success we must all play our part. Many of the rules in place are the same as last time school was open to pupils, with one or two new rules that are simple to follow. If in doubt please ask, we are here to help.
 
*School starts at 8.40am and all pupils are asked to go straight to their form rooms. No pupils are to be on site prior to 8.20am, the gates will be locked till this time.
*Pupils will need to follow the one way system when moving around school, this has been in place for some time now but the arrow signs remain visible as reminders.
*Hand sanitising stations are located all around the school and pupils are requested to wash their hands regularly throughout the day.
*It is now compulsory for face coverings to be worn by everyone in school, except for those who are exempt for genuine reasons.
*Pupils must stick to their designated zones at break times, this is essential to support the safety of not just those in school but also our wider community.
*Remember to bring your own equipment/ stationery & enough water for the day.
*When topping up your meal account online don’t forget it can take 24 hours for the credit to be available.
*Hoodies are not a part of our school uniform and should not be worn to school.
*All learners attending school site are to wear uniform. If you are having difficulty sourcing uniform items needed please contact your child’s Head of House so we can make sure you are signposted to all support available. 
 
Thank you for your ongoing support, we appreciate all of the efforts being made at home to help facilitate a positive transition back to school for your children. 
Milford Haven School are extremely proud to share the news that for the third year in a row an MHS Sixth Form pupil has achieved a place at Oxbridge. Izzy-May Solomon, our current Deputy Head Girl, has been offered a place at Trinity Hall Cambridge to study Philosophy. Izzy is one of only a handful of pupils from Pembrokeshire that have been offered Oxbridge places this year, and we wish her all the best in this next chapter.
“You get what you work for, not what you wish for.” Anonymous
We don’t know who said this quote, but we could not have written a better example to explain Izzy-May Solomon. Izzy is a normal girl who has continuously worked hard throughout her whole school life, and now that has paid off with an incredible University offer. We are so very proud of Izzy and this fantastic achievement, but also proud of her consistent positive engagement in school and the example she has set in grabbing with both hands any and all opportunities that were available to her while she was a pupil of MHS.
One of the many reasons we are so delighted with this University offer for Izzy is because she is an incredible example of someone who realised that there is no secret to success and no shortcuts to be found, success is simply the result of hard work, dedication and persistence. We find this inspirational because we can all make the decision to work harder for our goals, be dedicated to achieving them, and choose to persist even when it gets tough.
Izzy has said, “Despite working towards this goal for a long time, it was not until about a week after I found out I had a place on the course that I began to really believe and take in the fact that I had actually achieved what I wanted. I owe a lot to my friends, family and teachers for giving me the confidence and reassurance that I needed throughout the long application process of interviews, exams and essays. Learning with my peers in the 6th form, who were also competing for places in top universities and receiving offers, really gave me a boost to know we were all going through the same experience in such an uncertain time.”
When speaking to Izzy and reflecting on her time in school she has shown a maturity beyond her years, “When you discover your passion (whatever that is, academic or not) focus your energy on developing your skills and keep enjoying the journey. Be brave enough to follow your own path no matter what the people around you might be doing, and keep pushing yourself because it is incredibly fulfilling and you might just surprise yourself with just how far you can go!”

23rd April is Stephen Lawrence Day. A nationally recognised event which commemorates the tragic event of Stephen’s death in 1993. Whilst the date is one of remembrance, it is also a day which looks to where we are now and how we can create a better, fairer society. The pandemic has recently shone a light on why our local communities are so important and how we can pull together to create real, meaningful change.

Stephen Lawrence Day focuses on the part we all play in creating a society in which everyone can flourish. It is an opportunity for children and young people to have their voices heard, make the changes they’d like to see, and create a society that treats everyone with fairness and respect.

Through Stephen Lawrence Day we want young people at MHS to be inspired about what they can achieve in their own lives- whether in the their classroom, their community or a career. We want them to get involved in creating the kind of community they want to live in, and we want our young people to have a strong voice in building a more inclusive society.

Here at MHS we are committed to harnessing pupil voice, and through this our young people can recognise the important role they play in ensuring Milford Haven is an inclusive community. With this in mind, today we challenge everyone to complete one extra act of kindness. This could be something simple like holding the door open for someone or giving a friend a compliment, or offering your help to someone in need. Whatever act of kindness you choose today be proud that you are making a positive and immediate impact in your community, acts of kindness may seem like a small start but it helps Milford Haven be a place where we all feel valued. 

Due to Covid and the amount of time our pupils have spent away from the classroom, we have invested in an online literacy programme to help pupils rapidly recover the skills they need to access the curriculum now they are back with us full time.
This term, many Year 7 & 8 pupils will be using Lexia PowerUp Literacy, a computer-based program that tailors instruction to their specific needs. The activities in PowerUp support and build on our secondary curriculum, focusing on three areas essential to becoming a proficient reader: word study, grammar, and comprehension. Access has been allocated during the school day in order to allow pupils a 20 minute teaching session on the programme.
Da iawn to all of the pupils that took part in Lexia PowerUp this week and got the ball rolling on this fantastic programme.
YEAR 11 LEAVERS HOODIES ARE NOW AVAILABLE TO ORDER.
The fantastic and local company St Brides Bay are again providing the leavers hoodies for us this year. The website is linked below, and they are happy to take orders via email, phone or facebook message.
01646 696904 | info@stbridesbay.com
If you would like to place an order all St Brides need from you is what size you’d like, what colour hoodie you’d like,what nickname you’d like on the back, and finally payment. Adult sizes are £24.00 each, and Children’s sizes are £20.00 each. They are also able to post them out to people if you need to, this is an extra £4.00 for post and packaging.
Here is the link to their online catalogue which has all the colours listed –Adults Colours – https://www.fullcollection.com/catalogue/products/JH001
Children Colours – https://www.fullcollection.com/catalogue/products/JH001B(Please note that the adult sizes are available in a greater range of colours). Happy Shopping!

We would like to make all parents and carers aware that there are new line markings in Thornton Car Park and the designated pupil drop off/collection zone in the upper section of Thornton Car Park at the rear of the school site.
There are now clearly designated parking spaces, including a section of ‘reverse park only’ bays and disabled spaces, in addition to traffic directional arrows where necessary to facilitate safe and effective movement of vehicles at the start and end of the school day. Additional double yellow lines and hatched off spaces have been added to prevent vehicles parking in areas that would prevent the free movement of vehicles and contribute to an additional safety hazard. When dropping off or collecting your children it is vital that you do not park in any of the areas that have been marked as out of bounds, as doing so can cause unsafe situations for children trying to access or leave school.
Taxis and minibuses for school pupils now have a designated collection/drop off area in the lower section of Thornton Car Park where parking is reserved for staff vehicles only. It would be greatly appreciated if everyone could please adhere to the new line markings to achieve safer and more organised arrival and departure of all school traffic at peak times. Diolch yn fawr

Important reminder for pupils in Years 7-10…

If you have been provided with a school Chromebook during lockdown to support your home learning please can this be returned to school this week, along with the charger that you were provided. Please hand all devices into our main school reception, not to your form tutor or class teacher.

Years 11 and 13 do not need to return their devices at this time, but we will let you know when they do need to be brought back to school.
GCSE POD is a fantastic resource which Milford Haven School continues to promote amongst learners and their parents/carers.

GCSE POD holds a wealth of support for a range of subjects, with some content specific for KS3 as well as KS4. Learners are encouraged to use their MHS Google log-in to access the site and start exploring the site which could prove extremely beneficial for our KS4 learners.
Please look at the following parent site tour where you can see what is on offer: https://bit.ly/2P1hJKZ

It has come to our attention that some pupils are wearing a single layer scarf as a face covering. Single layer face coverings do not follow the WG guidance, which states that:

Face coverings should be high quality three layered as set out by the World Health Organisation, but do not need to be medical-grade face masks. Face coverings or visors are not PPE and would not prevent an individual being identified as a close contact by TTP.
Young person’s mental health toolkit from HWB.
Below is a link to the young person’s mental health toolkit from HWB, designed for 11 to 25-year-olds. Here you will find six playlists to direct you to a wide range of online resources to help you through the lockdown and beyond. In each of the playlists you’ll find self-help websites, apps, helplines, and more that are here to support your mental health and well-being.
Please remember: if you’re finding it difficult to cope, make sure you speak to someone you trust. Who this might be is different for everyone, but it might include family members or carers, a teacher, a helpline, or a doctor. How you feel is important and lots of people are here to help if you need them.

All parents and carers in all year groups have been issued login codes for our school app WEDUC, this is one of the easiest ways to keep in touch with us and stay up to date with school life.
Please contact us if you need any support getting started with the app, or have any trouble logging in, so we can help you get connected.