Please click here to view the School Newsletter for January 2022.

University Hospitals Birmingham are delighted to announce that the largest free national work experience programme for aspiring medical, dental and veterinary students has returned. This was developed last year in partnership with Birmingham Universities Hospitals Trust and it is free for students from 10-13 or S3-S6 year groups to participate in. Students have 1 month to complete each session, and once they have completed the programme they will receive a certificate from Medic Mentor and UHB as evidence of their participation. Medical Schools are accepting virtual work experience as an alternative to in-person work experience in light of the pandemic and reduced access to placements.

Participation in the virtual work experience will also provide students (and their parents) with several opportunities to speak to doctors, dentists and vets continuously throughout the academic year. They will be able to do this on Tuesday evenings and most weekends, for free. They can also call the Mentor Helpline number 01530 417 299 from 10am-5pm Mon-Fri if they would like to advice on careers or applying to medical, dental, vet school. Mostly this number is manned by Doctors. Medic Mentor is a non-profit social enterprise and all of our proceeds are reinvested in supporting students to make informed career decisions.

Registering for these programmes could not be easier, all they need to do is complete the free online application form for:
Medicine: https://medicmentor.co.uk/university-hospitals-birmingham-trust-virtual-work-experience/
Dentistry: https://medicmentor.co.uk/dental-live-virtual-work-experience/
Veterinary: https://medicmentor.co.uk/veterinary-virtual-live-work-experience/

Teachers and students have benefited greatly from these programme last year. Here are some of our feedback videos:
Student Feedback: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVHw3K0h5Sk
Teacher Feedback: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUoeFBivIUc&t=3s

Please find information below to support you with S4 to S5 options:

• WFHS The Way Ahead 2022.23 – Part 1
• WFHS The Way Ahead 2022.23 – Part 2

How to have meaningful career conversations with young people – Thursday 27 January 2022

Parents and carers can learn more about the power of having meaningful careers conversations with their young person on a free webinar later this month.

Careers Advisers, Kay Hume and Mhairi Galashan, from Skills Development Scotland will talk about the key things to remember in steering career conversations. They will offer hints and tips as well as introduce parents and carers to My World of Work.

Following their online presentation, there will also be an opportunity to ask the Advisers questions to support your career conversation planning.

Parents and carers can register for our session here: https://meaningfulcareerconversations.eventbrite.co.uk

To assist you and your child in making choices for their S3&4 Curriculum, our Faculty Heads have created short explainer videos to give you a flavour of the exciting opportunities that their subject areas hold for your child, both now and in the future. You can find the videos on our ‘Support Hub’ here  (Please note that some browsers may direct you to download the videos in order that you can view them).

Should you or your child have any questions about this important process, please ask them to speak with their Pastoral Care teacher or myself.

Mr Lamb (Acting DHT S1 & S2)

Today sees the launch of our S2 into S3 Curricular Choices preparation. Young people are receiving input via their PSHE classes and have been issued with a draft of the Options choices. They have also been provided information via Google Classroom. Please take the time to go through the attached booklet with your child and support them in making the decisions that will support their future success. They will have an individual meeting with both the careers advisor and their pastoral care teacher.

S2 to S3 Curricular Choices Booklet 2022-23

Our School Orchestra have really enjoyed performing together for the first time in 2 years. Although some of our musicians couldn’t make it along to the recording, you were all there in spirit! Here is Ukrainian Bell Carol and Jazzy Holidays for you to enjoy. Wishing you all a Happy Holiday.

⏱️ S5/6 PRELIM TIMETABLE & SUPPORTED STUDY ⏱️

The S5/6 Prelim Timetable  and Supported Study plan are available in the links below. These are also available via the school website and twitter account. Paper copies will also be issued at our assembly that is planned to take place on week commencing 13 December.

Parents / Carers have also been issued the prelim timetable and supported study via Group Call.

If you have any questions then please see me or your Pastoral Support Teacher.

Mr Lindsay

Depute Head Teacher (Acting)

S5&6 Prelims 2021 – Pupil

S5-6 Supported Study Plan

Staff and pupils are invited to wear a Christmas Jumper with their uniform on Friday 10 December and make a small donation to charity. This is voluntary but we hope this brings some Christmas spirit to Woodfarm High School.

Find out what Save the Children have been doing this year here.

Mearns After School Care (MACS), provide before and after school care for P1 – P7 children within the East Renfrewshire primary schools.

We are currently recruiting for Care & Playful Learning Support Workers, providing a fantastic opportunity for any  School Leaver, wanting an opening to progress into a Childcare career without going to college or enrolling in a Modern Apprenticeship.

MACS is an SQA approved centre, where staff continue to Learn while they earn. We provide In-House Training and support allowing staff to gain SQA certified Qualifications such as, Playwork SCQF L6, Forest Kindergarten SCQF L7, progressing to Social Services Children and Young People L7 .

The Career path does not need to stop there, when business needs allow, staff can go on to supervisory and
management positions within the company, gaining either a PDA plus in Childhood Practice SCQF level 9 qualification or BA in Childhood practice.

Further Information and details on how to apply, is available on the MACS website www.macs.uk.com

Mr Scott

Please see the flyer below for a transition support session directed at pupils who are considering leaving school soon.

information session flyer

The NHS Allied Work Experience Programme is in full swing and available for S3-S6 students to participate.

Pupils can register individual spaces at this link or you can register them as a group online too: https://alliedhealthmentor.org/nhs-healthcare-careers-virtual-work-experience/

All students will be awarded with a Work Experience Certificate for participating on the day. This is something that they can include in their UCAS and Apprenticeship Applications.

The next Work Experience day is on the 5th December and it will cover the following healthcare careers:

Nursing
Midwifery
Paramedicine
Physiotherapy
Occupational Therapy
Dietetics
Radiography
Prosthetics and Orthotics
Speech and language therapy
and Pharmacy!

The virtual work experience day will take place through an online portal and run LIVE from 10-5pm, following 2 patients from their initial accidents through to recovery. Pupils will see the patients interact with a variety of healthcare professionals so they develop an understanding of the multidisciplinary team as well as insights into their own chosen careers.

Pupils will also have the opportunity to interact with the healthcare professionals via a LIVE Chat function and polls throughout the day!

The cost to attend is £10/student per session, which is just an administrative cost to cover the set-up of individual portals, personalised certificates, safeguarding, the tech on the day, such as servers and chat functions. Schools can also register groups online.

All registrations can be made via this link: https://alliedhealthmentor.org/nhs-healthcare-careers-virtual-work-experience/

If you have any questions about the programme, please complete the following contact form and we will happily get back to you with a swift response: https://airtable.com/shrM6UPT8Z2uxx7OL

Please feel free to download the flyer below: https://medicmentor.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/A5-Flyer-Work-Experience-No-Date.png

We look forward to welcoming all potential healthcare students onto this national virtual work experience programme!

Please click  here to view the most recent weekly update from the East Renfrewshire Carers Centre.

Students interested in applying to Glasgow University are invited to come attend our UofG Information Sessions. There are sessions dedicated to Arts, Engineering, Geography and Life Sciences as well as sessions covering all degrees. At the sessions the Recruitment Officers will give a short presentation followed by a Q&A where current students will be available to answer any questions applicants may have about studying or life in Glasgow

Students can register here.

In addition, Lecturers are running a series of sessions on a variety of subjects:

Psychology

Psychology at Glasgow – 18^th November 11am

Theology and Religious Studies

Design Arguments – 24 November 1.30pm

Free Will and Responsibility – 1 December 1.30pm

The Problem of Evil & Suffering – 8 December 1.30pm

Engineering

Practical Applications of Physics Principles – 2 December 1pm

Software Engineering

Software Engineering Graduate Apprenticeships – 9 December

Geography

Annual Geography Christmas Lecture – Building Hopeful Futures: Climate Change and the Climate Crisis – 13 December 1pm

Physics

The University of Glasgow has been running a Quantum Technology School (QTS) since 2018, and has been supported by QComm and QuantIC, two of the four national quantum hubs. QTS is a collaboration between the School of Physics and Astronomy, the School of Computing Science, and the School of Engineering. Quantum technology is an exciting new interdisciplinary field, which aims to use quantum mechanical effects to improve performance over existing techniques, notably in information processing, communications, sensing and imaging. It has seen recent worldwide investment from both governments and industry, and is expected to provide new employment opportunities in the medium to long term.

Quantum Technology School 2021.

Live online sessions will take place in the evenings of December 6-8 2021, and activity packs will be provided to registered schools for pupils to work on in the weeks before this. QTS is aimed at pupils studying Physics or Computing Science at Higher or Advanced Higher at the time of the School.

Chemistry

In addition to these live events the UofG Chemistry department have launched a series of teaching resources where students can watch current PhD students carry out experiments and explain research techniques.

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