Dear Parents/Carers and all in our school community

Following the successes of last year's Drop-Down Days, we are excited to announce the forthcoming Drop-Down Day on Friday 24th November. The title of the cross-curricular day, Health, Safety and Wellbeing, has been in our school calendar since September, and students will be learning about a wealth of ways of staying safe, healthy and looking after themselves whilst thinking of others. Students from Years 7-11 will not be learning any of their usual curriculum subject lessons for a Friday Week A, however timetables will broadly follow the same roomings as they always do on a Friday Week A. We have some external speakers and facilitators, as well as some fantastic staff helping out to make the day a real change from the norm.

Key Stage 3 Students (Years 7-9) will mostly be in the same rooms as usual, with the same teachers in front of them, but learning different content. Some of their sessions include the effects of cortisol on the brain, rail and road safety, a sponsored skip and emotional wellbeing.

Key Stage 4 Students (Years 10-11), Year 10 will be in tutor groups all day and Year 11 will be in PSHE groups for the day. Students will be given their schedule with roomings in advance, as there will be a few rooming and staffing changes. Some of the KS4 sessions include mental health from the charity Briym, successful low-stress revision techniques from The Life Skills Company, as well as personal hygiene and health, and the influence and impact of role models.

Key Stage 5 Students (Sixth Form) will be in their subject lessons and timetables will remain as usual. However, for Year 12 there will be a compulsory sexual health session during period 3, and for Year 13 there will be an offer to learn about meditation during period 5.

For Years 7-10 one of their periods will involve a charity house event: a sponsored skip to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation. This will be yet another exciting house competition that we can all get involved in, and you are welcome to sponsor your child as an incentive to raise their heartbeats whilst raising money. You may wish to donate in advance, or alternatively to set them a target and wait until your child reports back their skipping total on the evening of the 24th. You can click to donate on our JustGiving page and please be sure to add the name of your child's house - Jennetts, Swinley, Temple or Farley. Without this information your generous donation will not count in the house competition. The winners of the house competition will be announced on Monday 4th December.

Given the active nature of the sponsored skip, all students are encouraged to come into school wearing their usual PE kit so that we can improve our heart rate, optimize our skips and maximize funds raised over the 55-minute session. A reminder that school PE uniform, as per our uniform policy on our website, consists of:

• Plain black PE polo shirt
• Plain black joggers; or
• Plain black leggings; or
• Plain black sweatshirt, or any plain black hoodie/zipped top for the Drop-Down Day with no writing or visible logos
• Trainers - can be any colour and must be supportive and appropriate for sporting activities (no converse, vans, slip-on pumps or plimsolls).

A reminder that our usual uniform rules for outerwear or coats will apply:

• Plain black/navy or dark grey outdoor coat (no writing or logos).

Any deviation of this, for example any other highly branded, patterned or other colours of jumpers/hoodies, will be required to be removed, or the usual steps and sanctions applied.

In addition, your child will need to bring their usual school bag with their tools of learning and planner so that they are able to access and benefit from the variety of sessions they will be attending.

We look forward to learning about the many aspects of Health and Well-being on Friday 24th November.

Best wishes

Mrs Lister and Miss Millard
Drop Down Day Organisers

Dear Parents/Carers

Remembrance Day - Sunday 12th November 2023

We are delighted to be supporting the British Legion Poppy Appeal again this year - students and
staff can show their support by purchasing poppies from Main Reception or LRC.

As a mark of respect students who are members of our Combined Cadet Force (CCF) will be permitted to wear their uniform from Monday 6th November for the whole week. They will be required to wear a poppy.

Students who are members of any cadets groups outside of Brakenhale will be permitted to wear
their uniform on Friday 10th November.
We will be observing 2 minutes silence at 14:45 on Friday 10th November.

In 2023 the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal will focus on how your poppy shows you care and
helps the RBL continue its vital work supporting the Armed Forces community.

https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/remembrance

Kind regards

School Office

To our Brakenhale Community,

Over the past few years Brakenhale have been proud to donate food parcels to Bracknell Foodbank. Last year the foodbank was able to provide over 6000 people in Bracknell Forest and the surrounding areas with emergency food parcels and they are so grateful for the incredible generosity shown by the local community which enabled this to happen.

As I’m sure you’re aware, the cost-of-living crisis has hit our communities hard. So many more people are now struggling and need to turn to us for help to feed their families, and the Bracknell Foodbank is hoping that the donations they have coming in will continue to meet this demand.

With the harvest festival fast approaching, we, as a school, wanted to support this indispensable community service by asking students to bring in a donation and place it in student reception. Students will, of course, get a house point and two signatures on their culture card in appreciation of their act of kindness, and looking after their community, pertaining to two values we always aspire to uphold here at school.

Some ideas of items to donate are:

UHT milk

Please bring in your donations to student reception either before 8:35, or during break or lunch.

Many thanks,

Mrs Lister, Assistant Headteacher

Brakenhale Performing Arts department would like to invite all Brakenhale students to audition to be part of this year's whole school musical - The Addams Family.  No experience or expertise is required, just enthusiasm and energy to take part. 

Auditions: Thursday 21st September 1.30pm until 2.15pm in the Main Hall. 

We are looking for students to be part of the cast, backstage crew, props and costuming department. Please visit our website and fill in the attached form to find out more about the show and auditions. 

Brakenhale School - The Addams Family Website

Register your interest to audition

We hope to see you there!

The Performing Arts Department 

Dear Parents / Carers

We have been liaising with Thames Valley Police following a report of a man acting suspiciously outside of school but in the vicinity, in the last two days. This was also reported to us yesterday. The police have been prompt in their response and we continue to be in contact with each other. We have been told an arrest has been made too. However, we do not have any further information.

As always, students are reminded to walk to school and walk home safely. I advise anyone who observes any suspicious behaviour to contact the Police via the non-emergency 101 number. This can be the parent/carer or the student themselves. Please also inform us via safeguarding@brakenhale.co.uk too.

Kind regards

Mr B Tailor Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers

I hope this letter finds you well. As we start another academic year, I want to take a moment to emphasise the importance of maintaining respectful and constructive communication with all of our staff members. Additionally, I would like to provide a friendly reminder about the use of social media in relation to school matters.

Communication

At Brakenhale, we pride ourselves on fostering a welcoming and supportive environment for our students, families and staff. Effective communication plays a pivotal role in maintaining a positive school community. As a school, we believe that it should always be conducted with kindness, courtesy and respect.

Since we have started the term, we have noticed instances where the tone and language used in communication with some of our staff has not always been kind. It is essential to remember that our teachers and staff are here to provide the very best for our children. Constructive feedback and open dialogue are encouraged and valued. However, we kindly request that all interactions - whether in person, over the phone, or through written communication - reflect the same respect and consideration that we expect from our students.

As a school, we continue to snag and make refinements for the betterment of all. For example, we made some refinements to the uniform expectations and these were communicated to everyone in July and again before the students started on the first day back.

I have always welcomed any parents/carers/family to visit us so you can see our school in action. This can be at a time convenient to you. Please click here to request a meeting and we will arrange a time that this can happen.

Social Media

In the age of social media, I want to remind all parents and carers to be mindful of their online presence when discussing school-related matters. While we understand that social media can serve as a platform for discussion, it is crucial to exercise caution and restraint to avoid misunderstandings and maintain the positive reputation of our school. Please remember that you can email pastoral@brakenhale.co.uk which is always available for addressing concerns or questions you may have.

As we continue to work together to provide the best possible education for our students - we all continue to Aim High, Be Kind and Take Responsibility.

Kind regards

Mr B Tailor, Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers

I hope this finds you well.

It has been great to see all of our students back in school today. Having seen Year 7, 11, 12 and 13 yesterday, Years 8, 9 and 10 joined today. I have led assemblies with each year group and it's been a real pleasure to see students back, ready for learning.

There have been a small number of emails to our pastoral inbox about blazers. To be clear, students should have these on them for the morning line-up at 08.35 when the weather is cooler. As the heat rises in the day, students have the option to remove blazers for the rest of the day. This was the case yesterday and has been the case today too. Many had them off by break time; some chose not to! This will be the case tomorrow and Friday too. On Friday, as already communicated to respective families, Year 7, 10, 12 and 13 have photographs by a professional company too so appearances will be of the highest standard no doubt!

Please remind your child(ren) about keeping hydrated and out of the sun for prolonged periods, whether that is in the evening and weekends. We will be reiterating these messages too.

Finally, attendance matters as we all know. Students in school, in front of their teachers learning, makes a big difference. Please continue to support us with this messaging.

Kind regards

Mr B Tailor, Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers

Firstly, it was an absolute pleasure to see your child join our school community today! Whilst there will have been nerves and anxiety, these are 'normal'. With time and familiarity with our school, these will ease. Mr Tailor relayed this message in assembly to all Year 7 students too.

Secondly, we are delighted to report that Year 7 have recorded an exceptionally high figure of attendance for their first day at Brakenhale School! Despite some of these first day nerves, Year 7 have demonstrated resilience, resulting in a successful first day at their new school. We thank you all for supporting your child in getting into school today and long may this continue.

It is strongly encouraged that in this early period of their school life that Year 7 students attend school every day, with no avoidable absence. Substantive research tells us that students who miss at least two days of school during the first month of September are significantly more likely to become persistent absentees. This means that they will end up missing over 10% of their schooling throughout their time here. This inevitably leads to having undesirable impacts on attainment and well-being throughout a young person's time at school.

If you require any support or guidance regarding school attendance for your child, please do not hesitate to contact their Tutor in the first instance or pastoral@brakenhale.co.uk

Thirdly, students will continue to wear blazers as they arrive into school and in the morning line-up. Today, we made the decision that students can choose to take them off for the rest of the day. The same will apply for the rest of the week: students will come in full uniform for the morning line-up. As the heat increases in the day, they will be allowed to remove blazers should they wish.

Finally, we look forward to seeing everyone back tomorrow as we embark on day two which will be
as great as day one! Remember, we continue to Aim High, Be Kind and Take Responsibility.

Kind regards
Mr Hilton / Ms Meacock / Mr McKane / All of our Year 7 Tutors