18 October 2024 - Letter to parents

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope that you have had a great week.  We have started our Celebration Assemblies this week, handing our certificates for attendance and for House Points. We are proud of our students who have earned them. We’ve also had great participation in clubs this week, including more than 90 students playing badminton each Wednesday lunchtime, 30 students taking part in Dungeons & Dragons each Friday, Be Her Lead and a fantastic group of Chess Players. Don’t forget, we have several celebration assemblies coming up next week and we have our normal full range of lunchtime and after school clubs all the way through to Thursday.

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 8 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 5th December 3.30 – 7pm  

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

Year 10 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 14th November 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.

A reminder that we have one week left to go before the break; the last day of term 1 for students is Thursday 24th October. Term 2 starts on Monday 4th November.

Homework

Homework is set on Teams for all students. A summary of the fixed days/dates is below. Due to the nature of lessons falling on different days for subjects, we have focused mostly on specific days for English, Maths and Science. Other subjects will set homework roughly every one to two weeks.

For Year 10 and 11, subjects set homework roughly weekly as and when needed.

Attendance 

Well done to our new Year 7 cohort, who are continuing to triumph with their attendance levels. We’re delighted to see most Year 7 Tutor Groups at 96% attendance or above each week! Thanks to parents and carers for ensuring your children come into school each day - it is great to have your support with our attendance work. This week’s winning Tutor Groups:

7W2, 8D1, 9W2, 10W2, 11D2

It looks like Wiseley and Dorchester are competing for the best House attendance- come on Avalon and Butterfield next week!

Safeguarding

With the evenings becoming dark as we head into winter, please be mindful of where your children spend their evenings. Spending time in the dark at parks can put them in danger. It is always wise to track location on their phones in addition to checking who they have social contact with on their phones.

House Champions

The four staff House Champions are already running an exciting range of activities and competitions this year. Please ask your child if they are participating in any of the following:

House Photography competition (running until half term)

Black History Month content every day through Tutor Notices

Inter-House Netball on 23 October, 3pm

Anti-Bullying Week activities, 11 - 15 November- more on this soon

Congratulations to Dorchester and Wiseley who won the inter-House rugby this week!

Mr. Ripley, Wiseley House Champion, is looking for new Sports Leaders. Interested students can get an application form from him in the Sports Office.

Miss Reith, Butterfield House Champion, is looking for new Eco Leaders. Interested students can get an application form from her from the Maths Workroom.

Uniform

Our uniform code aims to:

Help students feel equal to others and not left out

Encourage students to wear their uniform with pride

Create a sense of belonging to the school community through a common dress code

Enable students to feel that they are a valued member of the school community irrespective of ethnicity, gender, religion or socio-economic background

Most of our students wear the correct uniform to school every day. There have been occasions recently where students have come to school school wearing incorrect uniform such as leggings, nose piercings or white socks and without blazers. If these errors are not rectified after supportive discussion with the year teams, the school will follow the school behaviour policy. Please remember that we have a Hardship Fund to support you with expensive items as necessary – contact your child’s Pastoral Manager if this is the case. Please also check with your child that they understand what correct uniform looks like here: Uniform (Parents & Carers menu tab) 

Monkhouse

Monkhouse are currently advertising 20% off everything in-store from 19 October until 2 November 2024 (not available on the Monkhouse website). Our nearest store is Stoke Gifford, if you would like to stock on up uniform items ready for the new term.

Planned Lockdown Practice

We will be holding a lockdown practice on Thursday 24 October at 2pm (next week). Staff and students have been informed so they can prepare for this and make sure they are aware of what they need to do. It is important that we carry out these types of practices to ensure we are prepared and know what to do in the event of an emergency in the same way as we practise evacuating the building in the event of a fire. You will also receive a text from the school on the day as a gentle reminder that this practice will take place. Please speak to your child about this at home.

Community Events 

With half term approaching, here is a link to some activities taking place around Bristol: October half term and Halloween events in Bristol (thisbristolbrood.com)

For those parents/carers with children entitled to Free School Meals, there are fully funded holiday clubs available through Your Holiday Hub Bristol.

With best wishes,

Mel Sweet, Headteacher