10 January 2025 - Letter to Parents

Dear Parents and Carers,

Happy New Year! I hope that you all had a restful break. We have been reminding students this week of the importance of good mental health, and that they can speak to us at any time if they are finding the return to school after the break difficult.

We have also been busy delivering assemblies on respect and inclusion and reminding students of aspects of our behaviour curriculum such as corridor conduct, where they are expected to walk calmly and quietly between lessons and to be on time. I want to say thank you to parents we have contacted this week where, in a very small number of cases, children have not gone straight to their lessons. We know you have been working in partnership with us to help them decide that being in front of our expert staff is absolutely key, so that they have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.

Key Dates 

Year 11 Exams Prep Information Evening – Wednesday 26th March 6.15 – 7.45pm

Parent Subject Consultation Evenings 

The dates for these through the year are as follows: 

Year 7 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 3rd April 3.30 – 7pm 

Year 9 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 6th March 3.30 – 7pm 

Year 11 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 13th February 3.30 – 7pm 

Please also note the following date: 

Year 9 Options Evening – Thursday 27th 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.

Year 11 Mocks Update

It has been brilliant to see year 11 students returning to school after the Christmas break and continuing to engage so well with the mock exams. This week, students sat English Language, Maths, Geography, History, Music, Sports Science and Drama exams. Next week is the final week of mocks with French on Monday morning, Physics on Tuesday morning, Home Languages on Tuesday afternoon, English Literature on Wednesday morning, Spanish on Wednesday afternoon and RE on Thursday morning. Guidance on how to revise was e-mailed through by Mr Fish before the holiday, for you to support your children in their revision.

Attendance

We are so pleased to have welcomed our students back this week. We want students in every day because we know that great attendance has a positive impact on progress and outcomes and, crucially, allows students time with their peers, which is good for their mental health. We also understand that life events happen and that there are times that students are unwell. Please continue to inform us every day that your child is absent, via the school’s absence line on 0117 3772021 (24-hour answerphone), or via email to absence@orchard.tila.school.

The NHS guidance Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk) provides a helpful guide about whether students can be in school if they are feeling unwell. An example provided is that if your child has a cough, cold, or sore throat, they can still come to school. We look forward to seeing students every day, on time and ready to learn.

Congratulations to the following tutor groups for having the best attendance in each year group in the last week of term:

7D2, 8W2, 9W2, 11B2, 10W2

Friday 20th December attendance winners were:

Year 7 – Overall best attending year group

Avalon - Overall best attending Houses

Extra-curricular timetable for this term

Please visit our updated website page for details of our Term 3 Clubs timetable. We look forward to seeing as many students as possible at one or more of our clubs this term! Participation in enrichment has multiple benefits for students, including improved mental health, the chance to make new friends and the opportunity to learn new skills. Please do encourage them to engage with our activities.

 Reading Logs

Thank you for all your support with encouraging your children to read at home. Students are also asked to log their reading on our Orchard Reading Log, which can be found here: https://www.orchardschoolbristol.co.uk/ReadingLog/

At least once a week, or whenever your child has finished their reading book, please encourage them to complete an Orchard Reading Log. They are awarded with one House Point for every complete log, and these contribute to the overall House Point balance, as well as going towards Golden Envelopes, which are special prizes for students who show an effort in their reading.

Staffing

Just a little reminder that Ms Alderson is our new SENDCo, alongside Mr Scott-Mullen, our new Deputy SENDCo. If you need to contact them, please do so at sendosb@orchard.tila.school. From next week, we will also be joined by a new Learning Support Assistant, Mr Lee.

This term, Mr Harvey and Ms Saxena have joined us as Teachers of Science, as well as Ms Safeer in Humanities, who is an RE specialist. Miss Fear, our new Pastoral Manager for Year 7, starts next week. Finally, Ms Boyall takes over maternity cover for the Assistant Headteacher (Attendance) and Belonging role from this week. Ms Boyall is a very experienced Senior Leader and we are glad to have her on our team. You may see her on home visits or supporting the pastoral teams in calling home.

Uniform Provider Update

The Stoke Gifford Monkhouse store is now closed. We received an update from Monkhouse that they are working hard towards an opening date of February Half Term. We will keep you updated with further developments. You can still order any required uniform from the website www.monkhouse.com. Remember that until it opens, all deliveries are free when ordering online using FREEDELSTOKEG and fittings and expert advice can be sought from the Bedminster branch.

Safeguarding

Returning to school after a break can be difficult for some of our students. Please do remind your children that there are many people they can talk to in school, starting with their tutors and Pastoral Managers, and any member of staff can signpost them to additional support. They can also register concerns via the Whisper button during term time.

Online Parenting Course

Bristol and Bath parenting hub are holding an online course where parents can practise and reflect upon a range of practical parenting strategies. The course will meet online on Friday afternoons from 12.30 - 2.30pm. Full details of the course can be found here: https://parentinghub.co.uk/joinacourse/

Community Events

The Children’s Scrapstore are offering free outdoor play sessions to Year 7 children every Wednesday during term time 3.30-5.30pm at The Ardagh, Horfield Common to encourage playing outside all year round. They offer den building, crafts and loose parts play. Please see the attached flyer.

Have a lovely weekend.

Kind regards,

Mel Sweet, Headteacher