I hope students enjoyed their first day back in school. It was great to welcome everyone back to classrooms and to see young people engaging positively with their friends. I also appreciate the impeccable way that students observed the new temporary arrangements in terms of face covering in lessons. Thank you.
During this first week back as things continue to settle I have decided to continue writing to parents each day to keep families up to date with key back to school information. From next week we will return to the format we used before Christmas with the weekly newsletter at the end of the week and a full update from me at the start of the week.
Mass testing
The roll out of mass tasting both in school and across the city should allow parents to be reassured that transmission of the virus is tightly controlled and managed. As part of this process two positive cases of Covid-19 have been identified and potential close contacts have been notified of the need to isolate for 10 days. Whilst this incredibly frustrating, especially for the families impacted, it will ensure that we keep maximum numbers of children in school by not allowing the virus to travel further. As of Friday this week all students who have attended an assisted test centre will be able to take part in lateral flow testing at home to continue the positive work so far in school. In the meantime those young people who need to self-isolate will immediately have access to lesson resources and will be supported by the pastoral time. I am sorry that this has happened but this is likely to be a more frequent occurrence in the short term as mass testing continues.
Wellbeing – Thought-Provoking Tuesday
Head of Year Awards
| Name | Form | Reason | |
| Year 7 | Lucy Johnson | 7CAd | Well done for consistently living the school values, working hard and being an all-round model student during your time in school. Miss Kincell |
| Isaac Ellis | 7Mr | Well done for your consistently lovely attitude for the whole time you have been in school. And well done for your outstanding work on your Mars project- seriously impressive, keep it up! Miss Kincell | |
| Year 8 | Mason Harrison | 8JHe | For being top of the leader board for timetable rock starts with week. Well done! Mr Arthur |
| Jola Fairess | 8Pi | For showing what an excellent physicist she is in a recent Science test. Really well done! Mr Arthur | |
| Year 9 | Josh Smith | 9SMr | Josh hard worked hard and been really positive in his 6 weeks in school. Well done! Mr Avery |
| Logan Lister | 9Wb | Logan hard worked hard and been really positive in his 6 weeks in school. Well done! Mr Avery | |
| Year 10 | Tyler Bedford | 10ERo | Thank you for being so fabulous and supportive throughout lockdown 3 – well done! Miss Turvey |
| Oli Park | 10IMa | Thank you for being so fabulous and supportive throughout lockdown 3 – well done! Miss Turvey | |
| Jamie Hope | 10MPe | Thank you for being so fabulous and supportive throughout lockdown 3 – well done! Miss Turvey | |
| Ben Middleton | 10RMe | Thank you for being so fabulous and supportive throughout lockdown 3 – well done! Miss Turvey | |
| Lenny Roberts | 10ERo | Thank you for being so fabulous and supportive throughout lockdown 3 – well done! Miss Turvey | |
| Lewis Dawson | 10Wa | Thank you for being so fabulous and supportive throughout lockdown 3 – well done! Miss Turvey | |
| Year 11 | Sandy Hough | 11SMf | Sandy has consistently worked, for all subjects, to an exceptionally high standard. Her attitude has been exemplary. Well done Sandy – Mrs Avey |
| Philo Deryshire | 11Ob | Philo has demonstrated a brilliant ‘can do’ attitude in Triple Science resulting in consistency in the quality of his work. A very polite student too. Well done Philo – Mrs Avey | |
| Year 12 | Gabby Moore | 12HGa | For being really proactive and working hard in preparation for their first meeting as student captains. Miss Cox |
| Oliver Pugh | 12HGa | For being really proactive and working hard in preparation for their first meeting as student captains. Miss Cox | |
| Year 13 | Ella Hatfield | 13Sl | Ella has consistently worked, for all subjects, to an exceptionally high standard perhaps most in Applied Law. Her attitude continues to be first class. Well done Ella – Mr Charlton |
| Maia Leites | 13Da | For making brilliant and positive contributions to live lessons. Well done for continuing to work efficiently throughout the lockdown period, particularly in French! – Mr Charlton |
Head of Year update – Mr Arthur and Year 8
The day has finally arrived – it is wonderful to be able to welcome Year 8 back into the building as we begin our road back to normality. I want to take this opportunity to thank the staff who have worked so hard during this period of school ‘closure’ looking after the vulnerable children and the children of critical workers. I would also like to thank you as parents during this difficult time – this cannot be have been easy, and managing the difficulties of life as well as home schooling is a significant challenge. Thankfully for all, the time has come where we can all return to school.
It is important that every child feels happy and supported with their return to school. If you have any concerns, please do get in touch on the contact information at the bottom of this bulletin.
Our focus now turns to the return to school. As I outlined in last week’s bulletin, here are some key points, some specific to Year 8, to consider with regards to the return to school…
- The school will remain in bubbles for the time being – students will still wash their hands in the Year 8 social area first thing each morning, and follow the one-way system to their form rooms from 8:30am
- Students MUST ensure they have a facemask when they arrive at school, and wear it for the entire duration that they are in the building. Students can only take their facemasks off when they are sat eating their food at lunch and break, or when they are outside on the school field. It is imperative that students follow these rules – students without a mask will be challenged and given an M code in their planner. Three M codes in a week will result in a Head of Year detention after school the following day
- If your child in Year 8 has a medical reason that means they cannot wear a facemask, please provide school with medical evidence and they will be given a lanyard as a sign of their medical exception. If students do not have a lanyard, they will need to ensure they are wearing a face mask
- Students must ensure they are in correct uniform on their return to school from today (8th March), and they will be challenged on this if not. Uniform can be purchased online or in supermarkets, and Keal Teamwear in York is open from 10am-1pm as of last week for school ties and jumpers. If there is any problems regarding this, please do get in touch as soon as possible and we will see if and how we can support.
The testing programme in this past week has been a resounding success and should go a long way to provide a further layer of security for the return to school. It’s also been lovely to see the students in school when they have come in for their test! I want to say a huge thank you to all of those staff involved with the testing, and to all of the students in Year 8 who attended to have their test conducted. There will be further opportunities for students to have a test in the first week of the return to school. Further to this, testing kits will be distributed for students to have their tests done at home over the coming weeks.
Again, as I mentioned last week, Year 8’s stage of the AHS Journey relates to ‘Opportunities’, and we are hoping that these will open up more and more as time progresses. During this period of school closure, we have been running extra-curricular activities remotely, and my thanks go out to all of the staff that have been involved with offering these opportunities (many of which were directed specifically at Year 8!) With the government’s latest announcement last week, extra-curricular opportunities will be made available to students in school. I would encourage students in Year 8 to take these ‘opportunities’ on offer to immerse themselves in what AHS has to offer – something that the disruptions from COVID have limited for Year 8 to date. It is brilliant to bring back a programme that is closer to the normal AHS Extra-curriculum offer.
Well done to this week’s Head of Year Award winners…
| Mason Harrison | 8JHe | For being top of the leader board for timetable rock starts with week. Well done! Mr Arthur |
| Jola Fairess | 8Pi | For showing what an excellent physicist she is in a recent Science test. Really well done! Mr Arthur |
A £5 Amazon gift card is waiting for you in school when you return!
Finally, here is an inspiration quote ready for the new journey we are about to embark upon…!
“Today, I close the door to the past, open the door to the future, take a deep breath, step on through to start a new chapter in my life…”
If you have any issues regarding your child in Year 8 that you wish for me to be aware of, please do get in contact with me at aarthur@archbishopholgates.org, or Mr Deamer (Pastoral Support Worker for Year 8) at rdeamer@archbishopholgates.org.
From Miss Gray and Science
– Year 10 – I would like to say well done and thank you to my whole Year 10 Triple Science Class – Your maturity and effort throughout the lockdown has been terrific. Looking forward to seeing you all next week. Mr Lever.
– Year 10 – Well done to Ruby Wedge, Kyle Noddings, Joe Taylor, Sidar Cedin, Oli Graham, Liv Grant, Jamie Hope and Fran Turpin. Great engagement with Science during the lockdown. Mr Lever
Roong Saiyut, Y13, has been a fantastic Chemistry student all through lockdown. Great engagement and top quality in all work. Dr Osman
– 7NTH – All working really hard. Very well done – Mr Lever
– Year 9 – I would like to say well done to all my Year 9 class for their excellent effort during the lockdown. See you next week. Lv
– Katy Douglas, Y12, working hard in Chemistry, asking lots of questions and making super progress. Dr Osman
– Daisy Hardy, Y11, has been brilliant in Science during on-line lessons. Two grade 9s in Physics unit tests! Dr Osman
– Year 10 – Liv Wong, Beau Crofford and Henry Lucas for excellent engagement in online lessons. Mr Thompson
– Year 9 – Kai Gatenby, Summer Langhorn, Charlie Hope, Arda Timur, Jordan Handley, Laura Waddington, Lauren Waddington and Wessam Alrehaily for their efforts and positive atmosphere in online lessons. Mr Thompson
– Year 9 – 9d2 Science keeping me entertained and working hard through the lockdown. Mr Thompson
– Year 12 – 12a/Ch1 have done some fantastic work throughout lockdown. Mr Thompson
– Year 11 – 11b1 for being amazing for almost 4 years now! I always look forward to our lessons and am continually impressed by the attitudes and atmosphere in the room. We are so nearly there, keep going for a last push and do yourselves and us proud. Mr T
Collective Worship
As we continue through the Christian season of Lent we continue with our Pilgrim Pathways theme in Form Tutor Collective Worship. We have thought about the metaphors of a Lamp, a Map and a First Aid Kit. Many people who go on a walking pilgrimage take a walking stick to help them stay stable. A walking stick can also be a symbol of all the wise people who have gone before us, who inspire us and help us continue on our journey. Our daily quotes are about Supporting others.
Tuesday – “Never look down on anybody unless you are helping him up.” – Rev. Jesse Jackson: American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician