Our Year 10 and 11 students have breathed a sigh of relief today as their Progress exams have finished. They’ve approached them well and, as they receive their results in the coming weeks, will be able to see the progress that they’ve made and the actions that they need to take to make further improvements.
In Forest School this week, Mr. Woodward reports, ‘It may not be December yet but there was a definite wintery chill in the wind as a new Forest School group took to the school’s woodland. Siting of shelters to keep ourselves warm was a priority so students worked out the best way to construct ridgepole tarp tents to block the prevailing wind and rain. Students also worked together to keep the campfire going so we had a source of heat and we worked on getting to know each other and build communication skills through a series of team building challenges.’
Our Local Authority Senior Education Adviser visited us on Tuesday. He carried out lesson visits, visited Breakfast Club, walked around the school at social times and spoke with staff and students. It was lovely to be able to share our values in action, seeing focused, engaged students participating in high quality learning and staff and students talking positively about the progress that we’ve made. We also took the opportunity this week in assemblies with Years 7 and 8 to look at our value of being respectful, reminding ourselves of the ways in which we can demonstrate this in our everyday lives.
Attendance is a key part of our value of being ambitious as we know the impact that high attendance has on outcomes for our young people. With this in mind, Mr. Grierson, Deputy Head, is launching the December Attendance Improvement Challenge. He says, ‘We’re proud of the excellent progress that we’ve made over the last 3 years improving students’ attendance and enhancing their life chances and this was recognised by Ofsted in our Pilot Inspection in September. We know that in general terms, the higher the student’s attendance, the better they do at school, in terms of progress, general well-being and personal development and we are determined to continue to improve to get it back to the high levels that we had prior to the Covid pandemic.
We are launching a 3-week attendance and punctuality challenge throughout the month of December to ensure that not a minute of learning time is wasted.
⭐ Weekly Focus Themes
Week 1 (1–5th December): Start Strong
Week 2 (8–12th December): Keep Going
Week 3 (15–19th December): Finish on a High
Students with a 100% attendance at the end of each week will get an entry into a prize draw held on Friday 19th December with some amazing prizes on offer. If you have 100% for each of the last 3 weeks, you will get 3 entries in the draw.
There will also be a prize draw for students with zero late marks for each week. If you have zero lates for each of the last 3 weeks, you will get 3 entries in the draw.
Thank you for your continued support in ensuring that your child has high levels of attendance.
Today we’ve said farewell to Mrs. Donnelly, our Pastoral Manager for Years 7 and 9. Mrs. Donnelly has made such a significant contribution to our school community, not only to staff and students, but also to our families. We thank her for everything that she’s done and wish her well for the future.
Next week on Thursday 4th December at 6p.m., we’re holding our next Parent Information Evening with a focus on ‘How to Maximise your Child’s Success’. This is relevant for parents and carers of students in all year groups.
A festive date for your diary! You are warmly invited to our Music concert on Wednesday December 10th at 6p.m. It’s always a great evening with Christmas joy in abundance and we look forward to seeing you there.
Have a lovely weekend!