Parent Update 6th November
Welcome Back – Term 2 November 2018
Welcome back to Term 2. I hope that you all had a restful couple of weeks. Personally, I enjoyed a few days in Paris with my son. We did all the touristy things and I even managed a ride on Space Mountain at Disney. This, however, is not something I will be making a habit of.
Now that we are back, there are seven weeks until Christmas. Personally, this is one of my favourite terms for a number of reasons. We have all the Christmas music to look forward to in December. For Year 11s, there is still enough time to put in the work and effort for good GCSE grades. With our extensive P6i offer for Year 11 students, there is plenty of additional support in place. Certainly last year’s students made the most of this to achieve the remarkable grades. I must say, I was impressed with students and staff who gave up the first week of half term to get on with some additional study here at WCSA.
Over the course of Term 2 – seven weeks – we have 49 days of learning. In this period, we have Assessment Week (Mon 13 November) and then we start Learning Cycle 2 (Monday 27 November). As we start our new Learning Cycle, we report to you, the parents and carers, on your child’s progress from Learning Cycle 1. This comes in the form of a report home to you stating both progress and effort and colour coding where students are on track to make expected progress. We are keen to quality assure our Learning Cycles (and our homework booklets) so I would like to ask for volunteers from each year group for a parent forum. These will run in December. You can give us all of your views, suggestions and comments regarding any school matters. However, we are particularly interested to hear about assessments, homework and reporting. Mr. Dixon (Head of Lower School) and Mrs. Mac (Head of Upper School) will be coordinating these groups – please do mail them if you think you can take part.
As it gets colder, I would like to remind you about the basics of school uniform. Polishable shoes MUST be worn, unless students are in possession of an up-to-date note from the GP. We do not allow students to walk the site in trainers. However, we do realise that shoes get wet, lost, or broken and we are ALWAYS willing to lend shoes while parents are waiting to get to the shops for a new pair. Blazers MUST be worn at all times (unless a classroom is particularly warm and it is taken off for the duration of the lesson). I know that a number of students like to wear a school jumper underneath their blazer. This is fine, but it cannot be instead of a blazer. We do not have hoodies at all; we will confiscate hoodies, phone parents and return them at the end of the school day. Winter coats are fine and clearly a must if temperatures drop like they did last year. But, again, a hoodie is not a winter coat. Please do feel free to check with me or Mr. Dixon (Assistant Principal – Uniform Matters) before you buy something that you are unsure of. I know that some parents like to send in a photo of the item they are thinking of buying, so as to not waste money.
I am incredibly impressed with the work on our new toilet block – Worle Water World. We anticipate this state-of-the-art provision will be ready before the end of Term 2. I visit a number of schools, and I am keen that we offer our students the best provision that we can. Indeed, these new toilets will be the envy of many a school. I do hope that WCSA students will enjoy this new provision. We will have one of our fantastic blue coat team on duty during social times in this area.
Finally, I would like to remind Year 11 Parents that Parents’ Evening is coming up – I know that Mrs Mac has written to you with all the details. It is a key evening and I would urge you to attend if you can. Please do check the calendar on our website for Parents’ Evenings for all year groups. However, I am really keen to stress that you should not wait until Parents’ Evening if you would like to contact teachers. E-mail addresses are on the website and we are always happy to hear from you. When we can build strong, positive home school relationships, we find that students tend to thrive and fulfil their potential.
Key Dates for Parents in Term 2:
W/c 5.11.18 Year 11 PPE week 1
W/c 12.11.18 Year 11 PPE week 2
W/c 12.11.18 Assessment week
Thurs 15.11.18 4pm – Leavers’ certificates evening
Thurs 22.11.18 Year 11 Parents’ Evening
Wed 28.11.18 Bridgwater and Taunton College Taster Day
Thurs 29.11.18 5.30pm – Upper School Celebration Evening
W/c 10.12.18 Art Exhibition Week
Thurs 13.12.18 Year 10 Parents’ Evening
Wed 19.12.18 7pm - Christmas Concert
Thurs 20.12.18 Student Christmas Lunch
Fri 21.12.18 Last day of school
Jacqui Scott
Principal
