Head Teacher's Message [May 2011]

Spring Term newsletter online

The Spring Term newsletter is now available on the school website. This enables us to cut down on paper and, also, the quality of photographs will be far higher than photocopied ones. If you would still like a paper copy, please telephone school and we will send one home with your child.

Proposal to reduce lunchtime and finish the school day 10 minutes earlier

It is proposed to reduce lunchtime from the current 50 minutes to 40 minutes and, as a consequence, the school day would finish 10 minutes earlier at 2.45pm.

I have been monitoring lunchtime for some months now and the last 10 minutes is when most issues that impact negatively on learning could happen. In addition, students have been getting through the dining room in less than 40 minutes. Plans are in place to speed up the service of hot food to reduce this time even further.

I believe strongly that getting students back into class to continue learning as quickly as possible after a reasonable break is the way forward. One concern is that students might not get their lunch in time. Steps are being taken to speed up service to ensure that students still get a break after their lunch. Another concern might be that students may not have enough time for afternoon clubs. We still operate first and second sitting on a rota basis, with Year 11 students having the privilege of going in first, therefore students will always have time to attend clubs.

The proposed change is only a small one but, I believe, it will be an effective one. I welcome any comments in writing by Friday, 27th May.

Link Ethiopia

I have written to you before about this charity. I do hope you are able to support me in raising money for it. You can find out more about the charity by following the link: http://www.linkethiopia.org/about_us/our_aims.html Mr Mokhtar has raised money for library books and will be visiting the school during the October half term holiday. I will be running in the London BUPA 10k race on 30th May in aid of the charity. I would really like the support of parents and staff in raising as much money as possible. I appreciate that we recently had the Alder run for Christie’s, but even £1 from everyone would be a tremendous amount of money. The link to my fundraising page is http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RichardORegan.

I appreciate that some parents may have supported the Alder run and the forthcoming Race for Life which involves a number of our female staff. For more information about the Race for Life, please contact Mrs Crawford. http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/lynncrawford1112

Clip on ties

As from September, we will be moving to clip on ties as part of our continuing drive to improve standards. These ties will smarten the appearance of all students and schools that have them state they make a real difference. Year 7 and Year 10 (current year 9) students will be expected to buy new ties in readiness for September as they would do anyway. Years 8 and 9 (current Years 7 and 8) will be given a tie for free. Current Year 10 students moving into Year 11 will continue with their normal tie, but with the expectation that it will be tied appropriately. The use of clip on ties means students will need a shirt with a top button that can be done up. The ties are available from our usual suppliers.

Bus fares

A letter from Transport for Greater Manchester (tfgm), formerly known as GMPTE has been posted on our school website. It explains how parents can save money on tickets. Also on our website is information about the ‘IGO’ card that young people need to obtain concessionary fares; IGO application forms can be obtained from Miss Brunt.

Calendar Dates

Important dates coming up for the Summer term are:

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

• Monday 5th September – Friday 21st October
• Monday 31st October – Thursday 22nd December
• Monday 9th January – Friday 10th February
• Monday 20th February – Friday 30th March
• Monday 16th April – Friday 1st June
• Monday 11th June – Wednesday 18th July

Details of staff training days will be available as we break for the summer.

Yours sincerely

R O’Regan
Acting Head teacher