Headteacher Update

I hope everyone has had a good break and are looking forward to another successful half term, like I am. Whilst we await further details from the Prime Minister about what the return to school may look like we will continue to provide the best possible online provision we can (a reminder of this is below) and, following excellent feedback from students will continue with the form time plan that combines Head of Year Collective Worship, small group form meets and a full form group meet on a Friday (a reminder of this is also below).

I also thought that families would appreciate an update in terms of how the school has been managing the health and safety demands presented by Covid-19. I am pleased to say that despite having over 150 students in school and approximately a third of staff each day the school did not have any positive cases of Covid-19 last half term. In addition to this we had an extremely successful Covid Control visit from the NHS which I have attached for families to read. However the key takeaway messages are:

‘A very impressive School set in large grounds.  Very well maintained to an exceptional standard throughout. Very well run and maintained and have gone above and beyond in their protocols and procedures for the current pandemic.’

‘I would ,like to reiterate what an amazing job Archbishops is doing. It is an exceptional advert for “covid ready” and I cannot fault the procedures, protocols and implementations throughout. Well done and this School has every box ticked in my opinion.’

The visit reiterated that the key measures for any school is ensuring that very thorough cleaning arrangements as well as good ventilation and as outlined before half term stringent wearing of face coverings are in place. These precautions should allow students to be able to move around school in  a controlled manner to access lessons and facilitates, especially if one way systems are in place.

Archbishops Holgates School

I know that many families also like to get as much external information about schools as possible. Earlier in the year we had the usual Sunday Times Schools Guide and now the Guardian have produced their own interactive schools guide which can be accessed via the link below:

https://www.theguardianschoolsguide.co.uk/index.html

Pathfinder Newsletter
A copy of this week’s newsletter is available online via the link below:
https://pathfinder.academy/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Pathfinder-Weekly-Newsletter-12.02.21.pdf

Reminder of online learning arrangements for main school:

 Reminder of online form time arrangements:

Head of Year Updates – Miss Kincell and Year 7…
I truly hope you have had a refreshing, relaxing break and are all ready for a new term!

Key Messages
BEWERLEY PARK: We are aware of the circulating articles regarding Bewerley Park and as soon as we have more information we will be in touch with parents.

STEM MORNING Friday 5th March.
We are really pleased that we will still be holding our y7 STEM Morning.
STEM morning celebrates the many careers in the STEM subjects, science, technology, engineering and maths and aims to enable our y7 students to start thinking about possible next steps for their futures.
We are even lucky enough to have secured live online sessions for everyone with Zoolab. Zoolab’s team of critters bring STEM subjects to life and show the varied career options STEM can bring through hands-on animal encounters. We will send your child’s google meet invite in the coming days. 

Timings of the day Reminder:
8.30-8.45 AM Reg: Please click ‘yes’ on the register.
8.50-9.40 Period 1
9.50-10.10 Break
11.10-12.00 Period 3
12.00-12.40 Lunch
12.40-1.30 Period 4
1.50-2.10 PM Reg- there will be Google Meets with form tutors or activities each day on this classroom in ‘Classwork’.
2.10-3.00 Period 5

In School Students of the week:
App1 –  Olivia Thomas for always trying her hardest and getting involved with class activities.
BS1 – Jack Lawrence for being focused and conscientious in all his classwork.
BS2 – Ruby Thomson for being a polite young lady who always works to the best of her ability.

Head of Year Awards:
Edward Shakeshaft- Well done for your excellent entry for the Friends Of Rowntree Park nature story.
Danuli Jayawardena- Well done for your consistent hard work and brilliant transition into home learning.

Special mentions from teachers:
Ruby Overhill-Cossu – an amazing result in our most recent Maths assessment
James Cartmail – an amazing result in our most recent Maths assessment
Leo Crossman – working very well in Maths and putting lots of effort in while at home. Fantastic assessment result showing that the hard work is paying off. Well done!
Brayden Richardson, Shannon Smith and Emily Morrison for their excellent maths practice shop
Ruby Overhill -Cossu– Consistently gives 100% to the subject.  Proper legend.
Bea Garrett – Craig – Completes all work set in a friendly and helpful way
Benjamin Perry – Sets a very high standard for himself and always keeps to it.
Pete MacDonald – Great questioning and a huge effort in everything he does.
Tommy Macdonald – Great work; always completed and always hard-working
Charlie McGovern – Excellent contribution to live RE lessons and a great assessment result. Well done Charlie.
Jonathon Middleton – Excellent contribution to live RE lessons and for making us all smile!
Isaac Ellis – consistently fantastic in RE. Engaged in written work and discussions. A delight to teach.
Fearne Grace Grant – – Really helpful. Always engaged in lessons. Has worked really well over the last few weeks.
Matthew Martin –– Brilliant student, always full of positivity and good ideas. Written work is excellent, engagement in lessons is fantastic
Shannon Smith – trying really hard in RE and has done some great work. She is communicating well in the chat function with some good answers.
Danuli Jayawardena, Phoebe Riley-Ennis and Cowen Mason worked extremely hard and did some great work in the DIRT lesson on Lady Macbeth.
Sarah Wadsworth Persevered with her algebra, which resulted in a great end of half term test score!
Kiki Braidley for excellent commitment to Spanish Duolingo
Saif Elshafey for excellent work on his French Duolingo
Layla Ruane for lots of brilliant work on German Duolingo
Thomas Bate, Alex Grist, Rosa Gladwin, Edward Smith have produced excellent English Progress Checks on a difficult text showing resilience and hard-work.
Cowen Mason – for being engaged and asking great questions in Geography!
Otto Kearns– Well done for full marks on your music assessment and introducing Mrs Newton to a brand new instrument 

Special mentions for an excellent Textiles assessment:
Annie Wedgewood
James Cartmail
George Dodsworth
Poppy Keogh
Olivia Thomas
Brooke Watson
Matthew Martin
Tamara Alahendrage
Angela Hettiarachchige
Hannah Birkenshaw
Faith Lister
Olivia Lister
Eleanor Jones
Otto Kearns
Tom Lawrence
Danuli Jayawardena
Chloe Slater
Alice Driscoll
Casper Goodwin
Payton Grayson
Ruby Overhill-Cossu
Charlie Blades
Zac Staines
Sarah Wadsworth
Anna Roberts
Evie Simpson
Caitlin Moffatt
Goutham Sunil
Amy Xia
Evie Price

Top Hegarty Mathematicians:

Literacy Champion
Mya Southgate for excellent engagement in literacy activities.

Library Newsletter February,3
We’ve got the details of an exciting competition that you might be interested in. The National Literacy Trust has teamed up with the Postal Museum to launch the Kids of 2020 Letter Writing Project. 2020 is going to be a big part of our history and we all have a story to tell future generations. Those of you who like reading history books and historical fiction novels should expect to see books written about the pandemic for many years to come. You were all part of this, so why not write a piece of history? All the details about the competition are in the link below, but basically what they want is for you to write a letter to someone your age, who will be reading it in 2030. You just have to explain to them what life/school was like in 2020. Some of these letters will be chosen to form part of an exhibition by The Postal Museum. How exciting is that? You can write a primary source for historians of the future! https://wordsforlife.org.uk/activities/kids-of-2020-letter-writing-project/?mc_cid=46363615d3&mc_eid=e1d639d37e The closing date for the competition is 2^nd April 2021.

As some of you will have seen on Mrs Short’s book recommendations we picked The Accidental Secret Agent for Y7, which is a quick funny read. The details can be found below, along with a link for an activity pack, just in case you missed them. https://tommclaughlin.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TheAccidentalSecretAgent_activitypack.pdf

As it is a quick read I thought I’d also send you the Y8 recommendation which is Animal Farm by George Orwell. The reason I chose it, was that I was sent a link that enables you to have ten minutes worth of reading sent to you via email every day. The books are all classics, which is a really good idea as sometimes the thought of reading a classic can be a bit daunting, but in ten-minute bite size chunks you might surprise yourself at how much you enjoy it. I signed up last week and have been sent a chapter of Animal Farm each day. I have read it before, years ago, and I am now thoroughly enjoying it much more than when I read it the first time. I’d forgotten what a good read it was. Have a read of the first chapter and see what you think. The sign up to the 10 Minute Reads is easy, just click on the link below and enter your email address. https://www.10minutereads.com/?fbclid=IwAR0xW-KHf0fDythHRiAT4BTh4st3vD2MYFYWi3CATrq-Qo-Y0fUEuF_UPu4

As usual, please send us a review if you have really enjoyed a book, or even if you hated it! You could also tell us if you have read to anyone, and if so what, and to whom? Also, don’t forget to complete a quiz for any books you have read. You can access Accelerated Reader quickly by using the following link https://ukhosted83.renlearn.co.uk/1893564

Finally, the usual reminder that you can borrow virtual books from York Explore using your library card. To find out how to borrow books and apply for a card, click on https://www.exploreyork.org.uk/

Remember we are here for whatever you need, please contact us if we can support you in anyway.

Sixth Form Bulletin from Mr Williams and the team
I hope everybody has had a restful half term. I personally felt last half term was successful, despite the challenging circumstances. I was extremely pleased by how quickly and effectively students engaged with online learning and ensured their education continued. Furthermore, an impressive number of students engaged with a range of optional online enrichment opportunities. I hope this continues throughout this half term. Regardless of what happens over the next half term, please be assured we are here for your child. Everyone has found lockdown different and what students need differs from student to student. Please do get in contact and speak to us directly if further support is needed.

I look forward to another productive and positive half term.

Mr Williams

School Captains
Congratulations to Gabby Moore and Oliver Pugh on becoming the new school captains. They were successful after a very impressive set of interviews. Both students faced tough competition from their peers and the standard of interview and ideas from all was excellent. Well done to everybody who applied and took part. We look forward to working with both Gabby and Oliver and are sure they will become excellent ambassadors for our school community.

We have also concluded our extensive interview process of all the student leaders for 2021. Again, the standard was excellent and we are excited for what they will provide. Students highlighted transition, mental health, green leadership and mentoring as key areas they wish to develop over the coming year. As groups and roles are finalised we will provide a more detailed update in the coming weeks. Congratulations to everyone involved.

Year 13 Exams and Assessments
I know this is at the forefront of Year 13 students and parents’ mind. At present, we are unable to provide specific details regarding the assessment process. However, we hope to receive clarity from the government in the next week and will provide guidance for students and parents as soon as we can. Therefore, it is important that students continue to work in the focused and diligent manner they demonstrated last half term.

Live Lessons and Independent Study
A reminder that students need to attend all live lessons as outlined on their timetable. Teachers will aim to finish lessons after 50 minutes and will set no more than 90 minutes independent work each week as lockdown continues. We will review this once we are back in school. If your child is unable to attend a lesson due to illness, please contact Mrs Walton (swalton@archbishopholgates.org) or use the school absence line as normal. If a student is missing from a lesson, we will follow this up to ensure there isn’t a problem.

This week’s Gold Awards:
Year 12
Elin Alias – for consistently working hard in home learning and taking advantage of additional opportunities.
Jennifer Norman – For showing resilience, engaging well with home learning, and doing awesome in psychology and sociology.  

Year 13
Eloise Reading 13Sl – Excellent effort in all aspects of home learning, but in particular for her Psychology home learning and winning the Kahoot quiz. Mr Charlton
Katie Atkinson 13Bm – Katie has created professional, industry-standard web content for her Film coursework in Media Studies – tremendous effort! Mr Charlton

 This week’s Shout Outs

Wellbeing Support
A reminder to all students that a range of support and wellbeing is available throughout this time. We are continuing to offer our daily Sixth Form drop ins and can arrange a 1:1 school visit for students if needed. We also continue to have our  weekly wellbeing focus which provide practical strategies. All of these are available on google classrooms.

Enrichment Opportunities
Talent has no limits – events coming up: https://classroom.google.com/c/MTY1OTgxODg1NzM3/m/MjY5ODk1MzY3MjAw/details 

Sutton Trust Summer School applications are open until 2nd March (3 applications so far), more information can be found on the Y12 classroom https://classroom.google.com/c/MTY1OTgxODg1NzM3/m/MjU1NzEzMzU1ODM2/details 

Channel Talent events coming up: 

February 23 @ 14:15 – 15:00 A Taste Of Geography: Antarctic Ice Shelves – Aberystwyth (KS4 & KS5) Find out more »

February 25 @ 13:30 – 14:30 Psychology: Attachment – Research in Action – With Sheffield & Goldsmiths (KS5) Find out more »

February 26 @ 11:00 – 12:00 Classical Civilisation – Virgil and the Aeneid – With Reading & UEA (KS5) Find out more »

Independent Academic Enrichment:  Google classroom (code: snwzsic)  which has links to MOOCs, Future Learn, Open Uni etc.

AHS Art Gallery
Please see below some of the work being completed by art students at the moment. Very impressive…

Science updates from Miss Gray
– Edith Pearse, Y13 has been putting in a lot of extra work in Chemistry and really showing me she knows how to study, Dr Osman
– Sophie Warburton, Y13 continues to immerse herself in the Science and making fantastic progress.
– Leah Grimes, Y10 great positive contribution to on-line lessons.  Dr Osman
– Beth Ravilious, Y8 keeps asking great questions, Dr Osman
– George Dodsworth, Y7, some top quality work in Science.
– Sam Birkinshaw Y9 for an amazing assessment! Mr Thompson
– An absolute high five to my Year 13’s – Amazing resilience and hard work, thank you! – Miss Gray

Collective Worship
During half-term it was the start of the Christian season of Lent and we are going to continue with our Pilgrim Pathways theme over the coming weeks, based on material from the Archbishop of York Youth Trust. When we set out on a journey, we make a plan. We might look at a map or set up the Satnav to guide us. The key item on our pilgrimage today is a map.

Monday – “The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.” – Bertrand Russell, 20th C. British philosopher, mathematician, and historian.