Year 13 students, currently in Paris

Headmistress' Introduction

Dear Parents and Carers

On Tuesday evening, we welcomed our Y10 parents and their daughters to School where we shared guidance and information. 

On Wednesday, AHS welcomed author, Tia Fisher, the Carnegie Shadowers’ Choice winner, more information below.

Y13 French are currently in Paris, we hope they have a very enjoyable trip.

We wish our swimmers every success this evening, as they take part in the ESSA Senior Schools' Relay Gala at the Woodside Leisure Centre Pool in Watford.

Finally, we would like to thank all the students for their support when the fire alarm sounded earlier in the week and thank both parents and students for their support with the Shelter-In practice which took place yesterday.  

Sport this week

This week, the Year 7 Rugby team took part in the World Cup Schools Tournament at Aylesbury Rugby Club and had a fantastic time.

The U16 football team competed in the ESFA National Cup on Wednesday but sadly lost 6-2 to Cedars Upper School.

The U13 football team competed last night against Princes Risborough School in the first game of the season.  Unfortunately, they lost 2-0, with both goals conceded in the last minute.  

Safeguarding talk for parents on 'Monitoring Devices at Home' - Thursday 9 October at 2.30 pm 

Further to our successful Parents' Afternoons last year, we would like to offer another to all parents and carers on Thursday 9 October.  This afternoon, as before, will be staffed by the Senior Leadership Team, the Heads of Year and the SEND and Wellbeing Teams.  Appointments will start at 3.30 pm and will be preceded by a talk given by Mrs Queralt, Deputy Head (Pastoral) & Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) on 'Monitoring Devices at Home'.  

All parents and carers are welcome, the doors of AHS are truly open.  We ask that you let us know if you are planning to attend the Afternoon and/or the talks, by filling in this Google Form.  We very much hope that you will join us and we look forward to meeting you.  Unfortunately, you will be unable to park on site, unless you require disabled parking.  If you park on the roads around the School, please do so with consideration for our neighbours, thank you.  

SEND Coffee Morning - 22 October 9-10.30 am

We would like to invite you to the first of our Aylesbury High School SEND Coffee mornings. Sometimes being a parent of a child can feel very lonely and this will be an informal opportunity to meet with members of the SEND team and other parents too. There will be a lot to talk about. We will be looking at what is going well and asking for your input on what we, as a SEND team, can do better.  We will also be discussing future sessions and what topics you would find helpful.

The coffee morning will be held in the SEND corridor on 22 October from 9-10.30.  If you would like to come along, please can you fill in this Google Form so that we have an idea of attendance.  We very much hope that you will join us and we look forward to meeting you.  Unfortunately, you will be unable to park on site, unless you require disabled parking.  If you park on the roads around the School, please do so with consideration for our neighbours, thank you.  

Miranda Crafts

SENDCo

Snoozify - Further Research

Last summer term, a small group of Year 9 pupils took part in a 5-week pilot experiment to test a new sleep app – Snoozify. Snoozify has been developed by sleep researchers at Royal Holloway, University of London, to help improve adolescents’ sleep health with the aim of supporting learning, memory, and mood. Half the pupils had access to the full set of sleep-improving features, while the other half used a version that simply tracked their sleep.

On average, pupils completed 30 out of 35 days of the programme, showing excellent engagement.  Feedback was very positive - every pupil reported a good experience, said they would recommend the app to a friend, and most said they would use it again.

Preliminary findings suggest that those with access to the full app went to bed about 20 minutes earlier by the end of the study, turned devices off around 45 minutes sooner, and showed some signs of improved learning and attention, as well as a moderately better mood.

As this was a small pilot, these findings are tentative but very promising. Royal Holloway would like to thank all the pupils, parents, and staff involved, and note that the pilot was invaluable for improving the app further.

The latest version of Snoozify is almost ready and the next phase of the project will be to test it this term with current Year 8 and Year 9 students. There are still some places available, but they will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis so be quick!   Please see the letter sent on Parentmail on 19th September if you would like to sign up. As well as taking part in exciting scientific research, pupils can earn up to £27.50 and win prizes such as AirPods Pro!

Dr Rebeca Crowley, Postdoctoral Researcher, Royal Holloway, University of London

Parking around School

If you are collecting your daughter(s) from School, please could you do so with consideration for our neighbours.  This week, we received a complaint from a local resident informing us that a parent, who was waiting for their daughter, was illegally stopped on yellow lines obscuring access to their drive.  This made it dangerous for him to safely reverse into the road and also made it difficult for children to cross the road safely.  The parent also left their engine running on for the duration of their wait.  Please can we ask you to park considerately and legally, to help keep children safe and to avoid causing disruption to our neighbours, thank you.

Vacancies

Learning Support Assistant

With thanks, as ever, for your support, and wishing all a lovely weekend,

Marieke Forster