Letter to Parents September 2022

Dear Parents and Carers

Today I have been made aware of a situation where a lone student was followed by a car for a prolonged period of time at low speed.  The male occupant asked them directions, then how old they were and then if they would get in the car.  This has been reported to the Police yesterday by the family.  I felt you needed to be made aware of this.  Below is the email I have sent out to teachers to read to students during p5.

Dear Teachers

Please discuss safety and walking to and from school with your group period 5 today

A student was followed by a car last night on the way home in the area close to school .  They are not physically hurt, but the person in the car did talk to them through the window trying to get them to talk and get in the car. 

When walking home or to school in the morning it is always best to ensure that you are not alone.  Walk with a friend or small group and be aware of your surroundings.  If you feel uncomfortable walking through a short cut then take the long way around.  Try to stay in public view, and pick a route you know well.  Do not talk to people who you do not know, never get into a stranger’s car.

When walking along try to be aware of your environment.  If you have a phone do not be afraid to phone 999 if you feel threatened or in danger.

The majority of the time it is completely safe to be in the local area.  Follow the simple guidelines above and be aware of your surroundings and you can make it even safer.  It is nobody’s fault if they are approached by someone, but we can do things to protect ourselves.

Regards

Rob Jones

Dear Parents and Carers

RE: Year 7 On-line Parents’ Evening, Thursday 31^st March, 3.45 – 6.45pm – Online Appointment Booking

I would like to invite you to attend our on-line Year 7 Parents’ Evening on Thursday ^31st March. This is an important event during your child’s first year with us and will provide useful information about your child’s progress so far at Priestnall.

The school continues to use the Schoolcloud online appointment booking system. This allows you to choose your own appointment times with teachers and receive an email confirming these.

Appointments, which will last 4 minutes, can be made from March 25th at 6pm. Should you need to, appointments can be amended via the platform after this time.

Appointments are booked via this site SchoolCloud – Priestnall School . (A short guide on how to add appointments accompanies this letter.)

The evening itself will focus on teachers outlining attainment and progress to date and discussing areas that need development in order to enhance future progress.

Please login with the following information:Your (the parent/carer) details

Title: First Name: Surname:

Email (as we have it in our school records): Confirm email:

Student’s details

Student’s First Name: Student’s Surname: Date of Birth:

If you have problems logging into the system it is likely that there is a miss match between the data you are inputting and how we have recorded this previously on our system, for instance, in the past double barrel surnames have caused issues with where spaces, or lack of them, are used.  Please let the school office know and we will resolve the issue.  It is most helpful if you could tell us exactly how you entered the required information as the way it is typed to log-in must match exactly what is stored in the database.

We are confident that this will be an extremely useful event and hope that you are able to participate.

Yours sincerely,

Jo Halfacre

Assistant Headteacher

Dear Parent/Carer, You may be aware that our Beliefs and Values department has rebranded as the Personal Development department this year. As part of our continued desire to support both you and your child as much as possible, we were hoping you would be willing to spend a few minutes completing a short survey looking at what you and your child feel about some of the topics we cover, and what you feel is important for us to address moving forward. There are specific questions about our Sex Relationship policy and the new sex and relationships curriculum. Both these documents are attached. You can also watch a Podcast on talking to your child about Relationships and Sex education which is on the school website.

I have enclosed a link to the survey below and will look forward to reading your thoughts and ideas. The survey is anonymous, but if you would like to talk further, I would be happy to arrange the opportunity for further conversation. Please feel free to contact me via email.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=3YAqYIcEL0WJbl0RrE3b_F-F1Klx_P5Hjw6rXgcl6Y1URVoyODNRRzQ4TU1UOU5QREtXRDU0NUExWS4u

• Personal Development Curriculum Overview
• Sex Relationships Policy

Thank you, in anticipation of your contribution.

Kind regards

Martin Jones
Curriculum Lead – Personal Development Department

Dear Year 7 Parent/Carer,

After careful consideration and review of the current Year 7 groups, we are now in a position to make some changes as originally intended and communicated at the start of the Academic Year. The new groups will provide educational, social and emotional benefits for the students and prepare them well for Year 8 when they will be in different groups for their lessons. We have thought very carefully about the make up of the groups that will continue to be mixed ability but are designed to improve the group dynamics and allow the students to meet and work with different students beyond their Learning Coordinator groups. We have much more information and knowledge of the students than we did in September and we believe new groupings will be a positive way forward.  Teaching staff will collaborate over the next half term to ensure a smooth handover and vulnerable students will be supported through this process. The changes will start after the Easter holidays. If you have any concerns please contact your Director of Studies in the first instance.

Kind regards,

Mr Stirling

Assistant Headteacher – Curriculum

February Headteachers Update

Dear Parents/Carers of Year 7

Dressing as a Book Character: Thursday 3rd March

Thursday 3rd March is World Book Day, and in celebration of this event we will be holding a week of events at school to encourage our students to keep reading for pleasure.

We would like to invite all Year 7 students to attend school on that Thursday dressed in the costume of a character from their favourite novel. All students in costume will receive a certificate and there will be a prize of a book token to the winning costume. We are also asking for a £1 donation for our Whole School Reading Programme.

We would like to remind parents, carers and students of Priestnall’s dress code and request that all costumes are appropriate and must relate to a novel, rather than a television, film or game character. The character can be from a current book, or from the student’s favourite book as a younger child.

We hope the Year 7 students will enjoy the day celebrating their favourite books, and we thank you in advance for your support.

Yours faithfully

Mrs R Mekonnen
Literacy Co-ordinator

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

First of all, I would like to wish you a happy new year; I hope that you and your families remain safe and well. 

You will have seen a great deal in the media about schools opening and the issues that many are facing with regards to staffing.  I am pleased to report that, at this stage, we have only a small number of staff who will be absent from school due to Covid.  I am pleased that we have been able to complete Covid testing before school officially starts so that teaching and learning can begin without disruption on Thursday 6th January 2022 (tomorrow).   If your child has not come into school for testing this week, we would appreciate it if you would carry out testing at home.  Please do not send your child into school if they have any Covid symptoms or test positive. 

As I have said in previous communications, your children have been absolutely fantastic in following the rules with regards to mask wearing and hand sanitising.  Over the holiday, the government has asked schools to reintroduce face masks in classrooms.  This will be a temporary measure and we are informed that this will be reviewed at the end of January.   Unless your child is exempt, can I please ask that you send your child in with at least one face mask tomorrow morning?  Students and staff will continue to wear masks as they move around the school and when queuing in cafes, as they did last term. 

Despite significant staffing challenges last term, we remained open for all students; we will do everything we can again this term so that all students can be in school receiving face-to-face teaching and enjoying the wealth of extra curricular provision we have in place.   

We look forward to seeing your child in school tomorrow in the correct school uniform (warm coats will be essential this week – no hoodies please) and ready for an exciting new term!

Yours faithfully,

Craig Burns
Headteacher

Dear Parent/Carer,

As the Queen’s Jubilee holiday falls within a half term break, the Department of Education has instructed schools to close for one additional day this academic year so that all students and staff benefit from the bank holiday. We cannot take the day near to the Jubilee itself because of Year 11 exams, and so have chosen Friday 21^st January 2022, as previously advised.  Students will return to school on Tuesday 25^th January following our Inset Day on Monday 24th January. 

We would also like to inform you that our final Inset day of the year is on Monday 27^th June and no longer on Friday 24^th June 2022, as previously indicated; this is to enable an external speaker to deliver training to all staff. 

We will be publishing our Inset Days and term dates for 2022/23 within the next few weeks; these will be available on our website and on future communications home.

Kind regards,

Priestnall School