FOR TRANSLATION - 08 September 2023

8 September 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope that your child has settled in well and enjoyed their first week at school. We
are really happy to see our students return; we have been busy planning another
wonderful year of high quality teaching and learning, brilliant pastoral support and
lots of participation opportunities and it is great to have a full school once more.

Timetables and Planners

We would like to remind parents and carers that your child has a two-week
timetable. This week was Week A, next week is Week B, and this alternates
throughout the term. To help you understand clearly which week it is across the
school year, so that you can support in the important packing of bags for the right
lessons on the right days, please see a ‘Week A or B’ timeline on our website, here:
Orchard School - Calendar (orchardschoolbristol.co.uk)

Your child will have received a planner this week to help them with organisation, to
record home learning, details of clubs and other important information. The planner
must be brought into school every day. If you need to write a note for your child’s
tutor or Pastoral Manager, we encourage you to use the planner, too. Just write
your message on the right day and your child can pass it on directly.

Key Contacts

We sent out letters last Term with the names of the Heads of Year and Pastoral
Managers so that you know who to contact first, should you need to. Below is a
reminder of the staff responsible for each year group:

Year 7
Head of Year - Mat Grafton
Pastoral Manager – Emily Bhakerd

Year 8
Head of Year – Fergus O’Donovan
Pastoral Manager – Debbie Murphy Piper

Year 9
Head of Year - Pete Hurran
Pastoral Manager - Bethany Jones

Year 10
Head of Year – Khalid Naseem
Pastoral Manager – Tracey Pointing

Year 11
Head of Year – Alex Davis
Pastoral Manager – Gary Scott-Mullen

Key Dates

There are some important dates to be aware of this term. From September we have
Parent & Carer Information Evenings arranged for each year group. Please make
sure you put these dates in your diary.

• Year 7 Parents Information Evening – Thursday 21 September 6.15 – 7.45pm
• Year 8 Parents Information Evening – Thursday 5 October 6.15 – 7.45pm
• Year 9 Parents Information Evening – Thursday 12 October 6.15 – 7.45pm
• Year 10 Parents Information Evening – Thursday 28 September 6.15 – 7.45pm
• Year 11 Parents Information Evening – Thursday 14 September 6.15 – 7.45pm
• Year 11 Exam Information Evening – Tuesday 26 March 6.15 – 7.45pm

These special information evenings are a welcome to the year from school staff, and
a presentation to give you an overview of the year, an understanding of the learning
and academic assessments that are happening, the reports you will receive,
opportunities for trips and visits, clubs and advice with managing the wellbeing and
mental health of young people in this age group. Staff are on hand to answer
questions afterwards, and ensure you feel confident with aspects such as home
learning, access to laptops/resources, any support with free school meals or hardship
fund applications. We look forward to seeing you. Please note that teachers are not
present at these Information Evenings. The opportunity to find out about your child’s
progress in each subject is at Parent Subject Consultation Evenings.

Parent Subject Consultation Evenings

The dates for these through the year are as follows:
• Year 7 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 14 March 3.30 – 7pm
• Year 8 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 30 November 3.30 – 7pm
• Year 9 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 29 February 3.30 – 7pm
• Year 10 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 7 December 3.30 – 7pm
• Year 11 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 1 February 3.30 – 7pm

Please also note the following date:
• Year 9 Options Evening – Thursday 29 February 5 – 7pm

To help parents and children decide together which options subjects/GCSEs they
might choose to take over the next two years in school. This is on the same date as
the Subject Consultation, as we found this worked very well for parents this year.
Our Open Evening also runs on Wednesday 27 September 4pm-7pm. Please do
come along if you have a child in Year 6. Staff will be on hand throughout the
evening to update you with information on why Orchard really should be your
school of choice. You do not need to book for this; please just come along and sign
in at reception. You will be able to take a tour with some of our students, if you wish,
or you may visit the faculties of your choice. If you have any accessibility
requirements, please contact us in advance on 0117 377 2000 so that we can
support you on arrival. Further details can be found on our website.

Facilities

Over the summer, we have had a number of upgrades to facilities for students, and
there are a number of planned works to further improve the buildings over the next
term, too. We are really proud of the renovations and upgrades to the students’
toilets, which include hijab screens for students who require them. They are beautifully
designed and decorated, and the colour choices were informed by student voice
through the Head Prefects. We know that you will encourage your child to respect
their school environment, and we have been reminding them of the importance of
this in tutor time, and in assemblies, too. We have also included for you a picture of
the newly refurbished toilets so that you can see the high quality of these new facilities

Furthermore, the part of our building which was once used as a facility for Filton
Avenue Primary School is being restored so that it is better fit for purpose in our
secondary school. Toilets in this part of the building are also being upgraded;
classrooms will have new carpets and paint and there will be upgraded
flooring and lighting throughout this part of the building. We are preparing students
for some changes to their classroom bases, including the use of our CLC building, and
how this will be organised for them. We have planned well so that learning will not be
disrupted and we know that they will be delighted with the new facilities when they
are finished at the end of Term 2. I will keep you updated with any significant
milestones in this development.

Attendance

As we head into the autumn term, it can sometimes be difficult to decide whether or
not your child should come to school. It is important to remember that every day
really matters; there is wide agreement among health professionals and educational
professionals that school attendance is vital to the life chances of children and young
people. Being in school improves health, wellbeing and socialisation. The greatest
benefits come from children and young people attending school regularly, and we
are here to support them. Please see further here advice from the NHS:
Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Breakfast Club

For children who wish to have a free porridge breakfast at school, we offer this service
every morning and it is open to all. Students are welcome to arrive at the Student
Reception between 7.50am and 8am. They will then be escorted to the dining hall,
where they can stay and chat to staff and their friends until tutor time begins.

Photography Exhibition

Attached is a link to information about a local photography exhibition and family
day on the 17 September, from Stewart North from Love Horfield and Ebenezer
Church: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dreamlines-picturing-bristol-high-streetsfilton-avenue-exhibition-day-tickets-706179199997

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

With best wishes,
Mel Sweet, Interim Headteacher