FOR TRANSLATION - 20 October 2023 - Letter to Parents

20 October 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope that you have had a great week. I can’t believe how quickly this term has passed by and I hope you have a safe and happy half term with your children. Please remember that school is closed to students on Monday 30th October because staff have an INSET day. Therefore, Term 2 starts for all students on Tuesday 31st October, which is a Week B.

As you will have read in the letter from our CEO, I am delighted to have been appointed as the Headteacher of Orchard School on a permanent basis. I will continue to work hard for and with your children, ensuring that they have access to the very best teaching and learning experiences, the most effective pastoral care and the personal development opportunities they deserve in order to be able to make competitive applications to the very best destinations in future; our young people deserve no less. I will continue to ensure that we all ‘live’ our Orchard values and are open-minded, respectful, creative and curious, healthy, ambitious, responsible and determined. I want nothing but the very best for the wonderful students in our school, and I am looking forward to working with you, in partnership, as we strive for the very best outcomes and experiences for our Orchard children
over the coming years.

Key Dates

There are still some important dates to be aware of. Please make sure you put these remaining dates in your diary.

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
The purpose of this evening is 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.

Attendance

Thank you for supporting us in ensuring that all children are in school every day. It really does make a difference. I wanted to give 11A2 a special shout out as they had 100% attendance last week, and 8A1, 7W2 and 7A1 all had 98% attendance. We are delighted with the number of students who are meeting the school target and look forward to seeing everyone in school every day next week.

Extra-curricular clubs next term

In Term 2 our Clubs programme continues with a wide range of activities on offer for each year group every day. Breakfast Club is open every morning, with our special Friday menu of beans on toast and bacon rolls for any student who arrives by 8am. We encourage all students to find a club that interests them and give it a go. Clubs are great opportunities to socialise, develop new skills and have fun with peers creatively and actively. Homework Club also offers a quiet place where your child can complete their home learning after school, using laptops, books, and with the support of our school Librarian.

BAM School Catering Prices

The Local Authority has advised that the cost of a main school meal will be increasing from £2.50 to £2.60. This increase comes into effect from 6th November 2023. This is based on an annual review conducted by the authority and reflects the cost of living and inflationary increases experienced within the economy. A main school meal consists of a meal, pudding and a bottle of water. Students can still purchase ad hoc items from the canteen but these are priced individually.

Post 16 Open Events

There are many Post 16 open events taking place over the next few weeks: these are a fantastic opportunity for students to speak to subject tutors, look around the facilities and get a feel for what it would be like to study there. Attendance at these events can help students to make informed choices about their Post 16 destinations.
Key Dates:
Olympus Trust: Abbeywood School Tues 31st Oct
Bradley Stoke School Weds 1st Nov
Bristol Cathedral Choir School Sixth Form: Weds 1st Nov
St Bedes’s Sixth Form: Thurs 2nd Nov
Access Creative College: Sat 4th Nov

KS3 and KS4 assessments and reporting next term

During Term 2, Year 8 students will be completing assessments that will contribute to their reports, which will be distributed on 30 November at the Parent Consultation Evening. Staff will report on current progress, attitude to learning and engagement with home learning and can give further advice on the Parent Evening.

Next term, Year 10 students will have their initial assessments after starting KS4 GCSE subjects. These assessments will focus on content that has been covered so far this year and will provide an update on how well students have started the course. Staff will report on Current Working Grades, progress in each subject, and the attitude to learning within each course so far. These reports will be given out in person at the Year 10 Parent Consultation Evening on 7 December, where immediate discussions can be had with teachers.

Year 11 mock examinations will begin towards the end of Term 2, with December and January dedicated to a full suite of examination papers. Further information on the examination timetable will be circulated after the half-term break, and time/resources will be issued to students to aid with revision. Year 11 reports will not be issued during Term 2 as the mock examinations run past the Christmas break.

Community Information

Ashley Down Old Boys RFC, Lockleaze, BS7 9YU are holding an ‘Inner Warrior’ event on Sunday 22nd October.

Time: 9:45am - 11am

Who: Girls Year 7 & 8

Information: turn up ready to try some fun games loosely related to rugby; wear active wear and trainers. No need to have rugby boots or gum shields.

Housing Matters is offering free Housing Advice and drop-in sessions at The Hub, Lockleaze on the 1, 8, 22 November and 6 December, 11.00am- 1.00pm. See the below flyer.

Talking to your children about conflict

For any parents and carers wondering how best to approach conversations with young people about the situation in the Middle East, we can recommend the following useful website for guidance:

How to talk to your children about conflict and war | UNICEF Parenting

Safeguarding during half term

As the days get darker, there are a few things we always like to remind parents and carers of:
Firstly, your children will likely want to spend more time on screens, in whatever form that may take, e.g. phones or TV. Please be mindful of this and encourage your children to have outdoor time as well as keeping an eye on their sleeping patterns.
The following two websites are useful for parents with regard to internet safety:

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety

Parents and Carers - UK Safer Internet Centre

We also warn against young people going to parks in the area after 4pm as we are getting increasing warnings by police of anti-social behaviour after these times, especially in areas such as Elm Park and Monks Park.

If you have any concerns and you need to contact school, please use the Whisper button on our website.

Planned lockdown practice

We will be holding our annual “lockdown” practice on Tuesday 7 November at 10am. Staff and students will be 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.

Home Learning

Please see a link here to the website regarding Home Learning (Curriculum menu tab) which outlines our approach to home learning, the frequency of home learning and a schedule for when it will be collected by staff. If you have any further queries, please contact Ms Wickson, Assistant Headteacher of Teaching and Learning, at Awickson@orchard.tila.school.

Wishing you a lovely weekend and half term break. We look forward to seeing all of our students again on Tuesday 31st October 2023.

Kind regards,

Melanie Sweet, Headteacher