Our ASPIRE theme in assembly this week has been Positivity. I have been talking to the students about our values. It is very important that these become more than words that students see around the school; they must have meaning and impact the school community. I explained to the students that Positivity is not about always smiling and being happy, because this is not possible. There will be bad and sad times that you have experienced already and will do again. There will be times when you are struggling and finding things difficult. Positivity is much more than saying ‘put a brave face on!’ Positivity is about having a can-do attitude and mindset that looks at how you can overcome setbacks and obstacles to achieve what you need to and move forward. Looking for, and taking, opportunities in life, and getting the most out of them. This includes getting the most out of their time in school. The capacity to learn is a gift, the opportunity to learn is right, positivity means making the right choices to make the most from it!

One of the ways young people need to make the most of school is by having good attendance. Many of the students I talk to think that 90% is good attendance. But this represents 20 days off in the year, which is 100 lessons missed. National and in school data shows that when attendance drops to 90%, students begin to make negative progress in school. In other words when students miss 10% or more of school, this has a significant impact on their chance of learning and remembering what they need to be successful. We understand that children get ill. I have two boys aged 7 and 3 and there are times when I feel like they go from one bug to another! But, if your child is well enough to attend school, it is essential that they come in. It is also really important to avoid keeping students off school for other reasons wherever possible. We want our students in lessons learning, so they can leave here with the qualifications and skills to be successful. Therefore, if your child is absent, you will receive a phone call from your child’s tutor or our attendance team to see if there is anything we can do to support and when they will be able to get back to school.

We launched the passport to the prom in Assembly today with Year 11. We want all our Year 11 students to attend this event, but it is an earned privilege and not a right to attend the leavers prom. Students are expected to keep their attendance above 90%, have a positive attitude to learning and uphold the schools high expectations. We want the class of 2025 to be the most successful year yet. That will take some hard work over the next 6 months. Then we can celebrate at the prom in July!

Thank you for your continued support 

Mr Bates, Principal

UPComing dates

9th December - Flu immunisations

12th December - Christmas Jumper Day

17th December - Winter Warmer Christmas concert and art exhibition 4.30 -7pm  

20th December - Final day of term - students dismissed at 1.00pm

Attendance

This week's forms with the highest attendance:

Year 7: 7.2 and 7.4

Year 8: 8.3

Year 9: 9.4 and 9.5

Year 10: 10.4

Year 11: 11.4

We are a reading academy

The school is encouraging pupils to write books reviews and to discuss their books. The librarian loves to hear about the books pupils are reading, so do please encourage your child to review their book. We hope you enjoy this week’s reviews.