Head Teacher's Message [February 2012]

February 2012

Staffing Update

Mrs McLean has now left after covering for Mrs Vali who is back from maternity leave. She has done an excellent job supporting English over the last 12 months and we wish her all the very best for the future. Mrs Vali will be working part time, splitting her time between the English and Drama departments. Miss Saville is moving on to Hazel Grove High School to cover a maternity leave there. Earlier this week we appointed a new Deputy Head teacher, Miss Sheley Ward. Miss Ward will start after Easter and I am sure she will make a really positive impact on achievement at our school.

Calendar dates

To help parents plan holidays for next year so that students do not miss school please note the following term dates for the remainder of the 2011-2012 academic year:

  • Monday 20th February 2012 – Friday 30th March 2012
  • Monday 16th April 2012 – Friday 1st June 2012
  • Monday 11th June 2012 – Thursday 19th July 2012 (originally reported as Wednesday 18th July)

Staff training days will take place on 16th April and 1st June. Twilights for staff training (1pm finish for students) will take place on 15th March and 28th June.

Term dates for 2012-2013

  • Tuesday 4th September 2012 – Friday 26th October 2012
  • Monday 5th November 2012 – Friday 21st December 2012
  • Monday 7th January 2013 – Friday 15th February 2013
  • Monday 25th February 2013 - Thursday 28th March 2013
  • Monday 15th April 2013 – Friday 24th May 2013
  • Monday 3rd June 2013 – Friday 19th July 2013

Please note the start and finish of the academic year may be slightly different from the dates on Tameside’s website. Also, staff training days are yet to be added so there may be slight variation, most likely at the start or end of a term.

Year 7 equipment

All students are expected to have, as a minimum, a black pen, a pencil and a ruler, preferably in a pencil case. Staff will be checking regularly and if students do not have the correct equipment they will be issued a detention. Stationery is on sale at reception for 10p an item. All students should have a planner that was issued at the start of the academic year and should pay for a replacement if they do not have one. Detention for not having equipment is for 1 hour on a Friday after school. Students can avoid detention by having a spare set kept in their bags or lockers. I am pleased to say that virtually all of the students are now getting this right. Thank you for your support with this.

The small things do matter and experience shows us that when students take more responsibility their confidence grows and so does their independence, which ultimately leads to more effective study habits and examination success.

Uniform

It is important to keep high standards of uniform in school. This is just a polite reminder that jewellery is limited to a small pair of studs. Bangles, friendship bracelets etc should not be worn. The same is true for badges and, so we don’t completely spoil their fun, we have asked students to put badges on bags instead of on blazers, ties etc. Also, please ensure that hair is kept to its natural colour and not ‘multi coloured’. Shoes should be plain black and trousers should be of the tailored, traditional type suitable for school, not stretch material or drainpipe style. Unfortunately, some shops are selling totally inappropriate clothing under the guise of ‘school wear’.

Parent governor vacancies

We still have two vacancies for parent governors. If you are interested in contributing to the work of the Governing Body please contact the Chair of Governors via the school.

I have an issue I want to discuss; to whom do I speak?

If you have any issues you wish to discuss with school about your child, the form tutor is your first port of call. If needs be matters may then be referred to the Year Leader and then to the Assistant Head teacher linked to that year group if appropriate. Ultimately, issues may be referred to the Deputy Head teacher or to me, but this should only be after trying to resolve the issue with other staff first. If you have any questions regarding a particular subject, please contact the appropriate Curriculum Leader. By working this way we can help parents quickly and efficiently. Even though some people think I look like superman I cannot deal with everything! This is why it is important for us to work in this way. I have delegated appropriate powers to key staff so be assured that they have the authority to make decisions to help you.

Communication

Communication between home and school is vital. We use our texting service for lots of reasons so please let us know if you change your number. It is extremely important that we are able to contact parents at any time during the day. There have been situations where a child has been taken to hospital after an injury and we have not been able to contact the parent until the early evening.

Please check the school website for up to date news and events. All our sporting successes are reported on the website and in our termly newsletter. If you think there are ways of improving communication between home and school let us know. I will be asking parents to complete a survey soon after half term to take into account your views of our school about that which you are pleased, the education your child receives and what we need to do to improve.

Yours sincerely

R O’Regan
Head Teacher