Dear Parents / Carers,
I hope this finds you well.
We have now completed three weeks since we came back to school from the Christmas break; we are just short of three weeks to go until the February half term. As I orated in my assemblies to all year groups in the first week, time waits for no one! I had told all students that they should maximise every single lesson, every single day and they will do exceptionally well. We are here to support along the way.
There has been much happening in school, above and beyond the learning in each classroom, since we have returned. If you follow us on social media (Facebook, for example) you will have seen this. In the ‘Parent News’ which will be shared in the final week of term, we will showcase this half term’s events, celebrations and successes.
Attendance
Attendance is important to all of us. Students in school are in front of expert teachers. Being in front of expert teachers means that they are learning and making progress. Our overall attendance is in line with the national average. However, I know we can do better! Please ensure your child(ren) attends school, on time, everyday. If they are too ill to attend, please ensure the attendance team is informed. There has been one day, since we started back from the Christmas holidays, when Year 7 had a 99.5% attendance rate. This meant that only one student was absent that day. I did the assembly for the year group that day and did note how full the hall appeared – well done Year 7!
Year 11, with the second round of PPEs approaching at the end of February, students must ensure they are in school, and in lessons. There is limited time and students should maximise this time so they are prepared for the exams in the summer. Please ensure you are discussing the importance of being in school, focussed on their learning and revising for their PPEs (then their final exams) with your child(ren). I know information about the Prom has been recently shared; Year 11 students have this to look forward to!
Parent Staff Association
Last week, you will have received communication regarding the Parent Staff Association. This year, we are looking to launch this and involve parents / carers and the community to support the development of our school. The first meeting is being held on Tuesday 21st February, in school. If you are interested but have yet to complete the form, please click here I look forward to meeting you in person, next month.
Strike Action
As you may well have seen in the news over the last two weeks, teaching members of the National Education Union (NEU) have voted to take industrial action in the form of strike days. The days are: Wednesday 1st February, Thursday 2nd March, Wednesday 15th March and Thursday 16th March.
At present, I do not know the full impact of such action. However, I want to reassure you that we will do all that we can to remain open for our students. If this is not possible, we will give priority to certain groups of students to be on site. This will be, for example, those in examination years. I want to keep disruption to a minimum. I will update you all in due course once I have a better understanding of this. For the first strike day, I will update you on Monday 30th January at the latest.
May I thank you for your continued support, as well as taking this opportunity to thank all our staff at our school for their efforts, commitment and hard work.
Kind regards,
Mr B Tailor, Headteacher