Principal's Update to Parents and Carers 5th February 2021
Dear Parents and Carers
I hope this letter finds you well. I can certainly see signs of Spring. At the same time as writing this update, I am adding a video version to the website. We are trying to keep communication strong at this time, so please do let me know if I miss anything or if you need more information about anything.
Mental Health Awareness Week
As you will know, this is Mental Health Awareness Week this week. We have added a mental health section to the website which I hope you will find useful. We will update this regularly. Please can I also invite you to join the Parents’ Forum on Thursday 11 February at 2.30pm where I will be pleased to work with you to talk about how we can support your children with positive mental health when schools return. To book on to the forum, please email my PA for the Zoom meeting details: thumphris@worle-school.org.uk
Return to School
I was personally delighted to hear the government talk about a return to school date. It seems that it has been far too long for students already. I know that it is not easy to learn remotely and our teachers simply want to see your children back in our classrooms. As always, we cannot make plans until we get further detail from the Government. At the time of writing, I believe that we will have further information on 22 February. We can reopen school smoothly once we have our instructions as our existing risk assessment is robust. We have set up a testing centre and have been successfully testing staff for two weeks now. Again, we will await instruction for student testing, once school reopens. Children of critical workers who are currently in school will be tested twice next week. Thank you to parents who have signed consent forms; we do need these.
Parents Evening
We are very much looking forward to Year 8 Parents’ Evening on 11th February. This will use the SchoolCloud system that we have also used for Year 11 and Year 10 Parents' Evenings earlier in the year. Guidance on how to use this simple system can be found here:
It goes without saying that the nature of the meetings this year will be different to previous Parents' Evenings; nonetheless, teachers are looking forward to discussing your child's learning with you. Just like a more 'normal' parents' evening please feel free to attend with your child. The duration of the meetings is set in advance to ensure smooth running of multiple appointments. If you feel you need longer to talk to a teacher, please arrange this during the appointment.
Options Evening
Our traditional Options Evening has been replaced by a 'virtual' event this year. Students and parents/carers will have the opportunity to meet subject leaders and senior staff to discuss all aspects of the options process on Thursday 25th February. We have made staff available on the SchoolCloud system (https://wcsape.schoolcloud.co.uk) from 3.30pm to 7.30pm; bookings are open now. Guidance on how to use this simple system can be found here: https://support.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/article/801-video-parents-how-to-attend-appointments-over-video-call
We aim to have a complete set of options subject videos and the options booklet available on our website options page on 8th February. Please do spend some time looking through these resources so that you don't miss anything that could help you make these important decisions. The options form will be live on the website on the 26th February, with the deadline for responses being March 11th. This will be an online process this year. Please use the following email address for any queries: options@worle-school.org.uk.
Live Tutor Time
I am really looking forward to our live tutor time which will start next week – Monday 8 February. We will go live twice a week; on a Monday and Thursday. Please can you return the Home School Agreement if you have not already done so. In addition to live contact, we have weekly pre-recorded assemblies. To find these, students need to go into Heads of Year Google Classrooms. This week is a Heads of Year assembly and next week it’s Miss Neal. Our Leadership Team alternate with the Heads of Year to bring assemblies to students weekly.
Remote Learning QA
As well as hearing what parents think at Parents’ Forum, we are going to send out a Google Form to obtain feedback for the Remote Learning provision. Please do look out for this as it will be available at the start of next week. I know that we are all busy, so I thank you in advance for taking a few minutes to give us some feedback.
I hope we can all enjoy some milder weather this weekend! Thank you for your ongoing support.
Jacqui Scott - Principal