Headteacher Update

As mentioned on Friday we have been delighted with the way that students returned to school last week. Compliance in terms of the additional controls around face coverings has been exemplary and conduct in classrooms and around school has been very good. I saw this first hand throughout the week as I visited lessons and delivered Chapel each day.

A reminder that the Newsletter will return this week providing details of life in school. To complement this I will continue to write to parents each weekend and of course at any point where important additional information is needed. I really appreciate all the positive feedback that has been received about the value of regular contact each day during lockdown.

On Monday students will be reminded about the importance of maintaining the highest standards in terms of school uniform. Thank you in advance for the ongoing support in ensuring that all students are in the correct school uniform each day. A reminder that this includes appropriate school shoes and an absence of jewellery beyond the one pair of small earrings. Form tutors will be focusing on this during tutor time each day. The same is true in terms of mobile phones which should be switched off and not seen in the school building. As ever if families need any support in terms of uniform please contact school and we will be happy to help. Thank you.

As families are aware schools up and down the country are preparing to award centre assessed grades for students in Year 11 and Year 13. To help support this process extensive moderation and standardisation is required in all subjects towards the end of the next half term. We do not want to put an additional training day into the school calendar so have decided that the best way forward is to move the scheduled training day for Monday 12^th April to the last day of the half term, Friday 28^th May. This means that students will now be in school as normal on Monday 12^th April. To support this process on Friday 26^th March school will finish at 1.10pm for all students, with period 4 lessons running for all year groups from 12.10pm to 1.10pm. Food will be provided at break as usual and at 1.10pm for anyone who wants this. We hope that these arrangements combined with the full return to school last Monday will minimise disruption for families. If you have any questions please do contact school.

Clarification on the system of controls
We continue to work tirelessly to ensure that the systems of control in place at school are of the highest standards. There are seven control measures recommended by the Department for Education to keep schools safe and operational during the pandemic. There are

1) Minimise contact with individuals who are required to self-isolate by ensuring they do not attend the school.
2) Ensure face coverings are used in recommended circumstances.
3) Ensure everyone is advised to clean their hands thoroughly and more often than usual.
4) Ensure good respiratory hygiene for everyone by promoting the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach.
5) Maintain enhanced cleaning, including cleaning frequently touched surfaces often, using standard products such as detergents.
6) Consider how to minimise contact across the site and maintain social distancing wherever possible.
7) Keep occupied spaces well ventilated.

When school reopens after the Easter break we will continue to use all seven measures however we would like to clarify the change being applied to measure six.  Students are currently restricted to zones across the school and taught within year group bubbles. Upon return students will continue to be taught within these bubbles however we will be removing the zones to enhance students access to different facilities. There will be no cross year activities and students will continue to wear face coverings in all communal areas whilst transiting to other locations. As part of this process we will have a full school one way system in operation and we will use the last week before Easter to support students to fully understand their routes to and from their form rooms and teaching classrooms. This will be especially important for Year 7 and Miss Kincell will be sharing this plan with parents this week.

Lockers
In readiness for post Easter lockers for Year 7 students will be available to buy from Monday on ParentPay at a cost of £3.00; once payment has been received a locker will be allocated. As part of their orientation around the rest of school (more details to follow) Year 7 will be shown where these lockers are located by their form tutor. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact main reception on 01904 411341

Head of Year Awards

Whispering House Project
We are inviting your child to be part of an exciting National history initiative exploring almost 150 years of Census records. The Whispering House project is being led by professional historians, writers and theatre makers, and AHS students are being given the opportunity to work on their own response to the project, with input from the professional creative team. Students will be invited to play detective using previous census data and other historical records to find out all they can about the people who used to live in their house. We’ll be asking interested students to conduct research on the history of their homes and the lives of former occupants, and turn it into their own creative response to what they discover.

Creative responses could include:

• Drama performance
• Artwork / Photography
• Poetry / Creative writing
• Piece of music / Soundscape

Once completed and digitally submitted, there is an opportunity to share this information with the community, through attaching a QR Code to a front fence or a garden gate. This would allow passers-by to scan it and see the history of the house! However, we would like to stress at this point that this is completely optional, and the decision of the house owner.

The Google Meet to launch The Whispering House project is on TUESDAY 16th MARCH at 4pm
Google Classroom code is here for anyone who would like to find out more:
https://classroom.google.com/c/MjkyMTA2MjM4NDk5?cjc=t2r5cv5

Thanks, Mrs. Newton

Head of Year Updates  – Mrs Avey and Year 11
The year 11’s conducted themselves incredibly well on their return to school last week and have reminded us what a positive, conscientious hardworking  group of students they are. For those who have had to resume their online learning for an extended period, though no fault of their own, we appreciate everyone of them for their resilience, their understanding and for them all working as best that they can under difficult conditions. Well done. Last week the year group ACW theme was Aspiration , based around the life of Steven Frayne, with the encouragement to focus any aspirations on their ‘ next steps.’ They also received up to date information on the key dates of the assessment, which you yourselves will receive today. There was an exciting post to the school community  on Thursday, asking for those interest in supporting a School Show  to attend a Google Meet on17th march ( this Wednesday) I would be fantastic to have as many of our year 11’s involved as possible this year. In the past we have been strongly represented as we have so many talented students who support both in the orchestra, behind stage and on stage. Normally, it is a commitment too far in year 11, but for this year, I am confident that our students will not only greatly enjoy the whole experience but will be able to manage the rehearsal  schedule with their school  work. I am already looking forward with anticipation

Miss Kincell and Year 7
It has been a delight to welcome the Year 7s back this week, they have been absolutely outstanding.  

Key Notices:

• Bewerley Park is cancelled. It is with regret we are announcing that the Bewerley Park trip has been cancelled, students will receive a letter today outlining refund procedure- everyone will be refunded in full and we will be in contact with you, there is nothing further for you to do at this point.
• Please continue to notify us if we can support you with uniform or equipment, this has been an uncertain time for everyone and we want to help however we can.

Head of Year Award:
Noah Smee-Brown: Well done for setting up a fundraising website called move the masses during lockdown to help get people into exercise.

Students of the Week:
7Cm: Jayden Castle
7Cy: Aiden Strangeways
7CAd: Jess Wray
7Bl: Sasha Crosby
7Hf: Lily-Jo Hemmings
7Hv: Thomas Graham
7Gr: Lucy Gilbertson
7Cmp: Willow Pedley
7Mr: Fearne Grant
7Nth: Charlie Blades
7Wno: Marley Lewin

Library Newsletter:
The Y7 book of the week is Small Steps by Louis Sachar (Young Adult Read. Colour Purple. Level 4.2. Quiz number 212592) I chose this as many of us in school read, and managed to finish Holes during book time. Small Steps is not a sequel exactly, but lets us catch up with some of the characters after they left Camp Greenlake. Armpit and X-Ray are living in Austin, Texas. It is three years since they left the confines of Camp Green Lake Detention Centre and Armpit is taking small steps to turn his life around. He is working for a landscape gardener because he is good at digging holes, he is going to school and he is enjoying his first proper romance, learning what it takes to stay on course. He’s learned that doing the right thing is never the wrong choice, but is he going to be able to stay out of trouble. You can read an excerpt, book summary, and find out about characters old and new by clicking on the link below. https://www.bookbrowse.com/excerpts/index.cfm/book_number/1742/page_number/1/small-steps#excerpt

It’s Mother’s Day this weekend. So, think about doing something nice for a person you care for this weekend. It could be your Mum, Gran or anyone who would like the gift of your time. Choose a book that you can either read to them, or read together.

 We have lots of books in the library where multiple copies are available so you can read together very easily. If you pick one from the Book Club Shelf then there will be questions/discussion notes to go with it.

Overdue books are now a problem. We have nearly 600 books that need returning. Now that we are all back in school, please can you have a good look at home for any library books that can be returned. Don’t worry if you’ve had the book/books for ages, you’ll never be in trouble for a late return, we are always happy to see them again so that others can enjoy them.  As you know we stock lots of series of books and a lot of the first/second books of these series are missing. It’s really important that these are returned. We all know how annoying it is if we can’t get our hands on the first book of a series that we want to read.

Usual reminder about literary links.
You can still sign up to a free ten minute read by clicking on the link below. https://www.10minutereads.com/?fbclid=IwAR0xW-KHf0fDythHRiAT4BTh4st3vD2MYFYWi3CATrq-Qo-Y0fUEuF_UPu4 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. 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/

Finally. Congratulations to Sasha Crosby in 7Bl who won our World Book Day writing competition. The prize was a collection of nine World Book Day Books.  Sasha managed to write a short story containing ten words from Roald Dahl’s dictionary. You can read the winning entry below. The ten words are highlighted and are also listed at the bottom of the story. Why not read this to someone this week and see if they can guess the meaning of the words. Most of them are self-explanatory, as Sasha’s writing enables us to picture the scene.

We can’t wait to see what the rest of this term brings!

Mr Williams and Post 16
It has been a genuine pleasure to welcome students back into the Sixth Form. Students have settled back into routines extremely well and it is like they have never been away. We have been impressed with the mature approach to mask wearing and COVID safety precaution. I would like to remind all students that it is essential masks are warn at all times within the building and that medical exemption certificates or evidence is needed if they cannot be worn. It is also important that students continue to follow government guidelines and avoid congregating in large groups outside of school. If you need further support, please do contact either your child’s Head of Year or myself.

Year 13 Assessment Arrangements for Teacher Assessed Grades (TAG)
As promised, we will be sending out further guidance on Monday, providing detail of the topic areas in each A Level. Below is a reminder of the assessment arrangements for both A Level and BTECs. Due to the differing nature of these two qualifications, there are slightly different arrangements in place:

A Levels

• Teachers will award grades taking into consideration a range of sources. These will include:
  • Year 12 and 13 interim data
  • Year 13 winter mocks
  • Any NEA/coursework
  • Outcomes from the Year 13 May assessment week
• Year 13s will sit one paper in each of their A Level subjects. Each paper will be 90 minutes long and will assess topics identified as a priority by the Head of Department.
• Students will only be assessed on topic areas they have been taught.
• The Year 13 assessment week will take place from Friday 30^th April until Friday 7^th May, inclusive.

Level 3 BTECs
BTEC students have completed a mixture of internally and externally set work throughout the two years of their course. Last summer, BTEC students were already awarded Centre Assessed Grades for 50% of their course. For this reason, BTEC students will not sit examinations in May. Instead, students will collate and use evidence they have completed within lessons to determine their final grade outcome.  To ensure that there is sufficient evidence, subject tutors will work with students to ensure the following:-

• Year 12 work, completed prior to lock-down 2020, is printed and reviewed.
• Outstanding Year 13 internal coursework is complete, including re-submissions.
• Externally assessed units are evidenced in terms of ‘in-class assessments/mocks’.

Students will be asked by their subject leader to place their evidence in a portfolio, to enable an overall qualification grade to be calculated.  The portfolio will then be submitted to the school’s BTEC Quality Nominee and Head of Vocational Learning for final quality assurance.

Year 12 Enrichment
A reminder that all students are expected to actively engage with the Year 12 Enrichment programme, which includes RE Enrichment on alternative weeks and a scheduled programme of activities on a Wednesday afternoon. These choices will be reviewed after Easter and attendance is part of the student contract within Sixth Form.

Year 12 Parents’ Evening and Year 12 assessment week
Thank you to everybody who attended Parents’ Evening on Wednesday evening. This was an important evening as it allowed parents, students and teachers to reflect upon progress made during Year 12 and their Post 16 courses so far whilst framing the next stage of their qualifications. If you were unable to meet your child’s teacher, please do get in touch and we can arrange for either an alternative meeting or information to be passed to you. The re-arranged Year 12 assessment week will take place from Monday 12^th April. This is an important week as it will allow students to demonstrate their progress so far and highlight areas for further support or development. Teachers will be provding structured revision in the final week of this half term and will provide appropriate revision materials for over Easter.

Student Leaders:
Gabby and Olly led a really successful meeting with the Student Leaders where they collaborated to create a manifesto of ideas. Praise goes to the following students for their successful appointment as team leaders.

• Transition group = Maddy Hatch
• Charity = Lucy Austin
• Campaign Awareness = Anna Pattichi
• Christian Ethos = Eldho Alias and Jennifer Burlison
• Sport and Positive Wellbeing = Gaurie Sunil
• Social Media and Newsletter = Chloe Rowan
• Celebration and rewards = George Atang

Head of Year Awards and Shout Outs
Year 12 Head of Year Awards
Tegan Meek – really positive and proactive return to school.
Maisie Thackway – really positive and proactive return  to school.

Yr13 Head of Year Awards
Alice Anderson 13Da – Fantastic effort and engagement with her home learning, I’m receiving lots of positive message from your teachers. Well done! Mr Charlton
Ruby McAughtrie 13Bm – For consistently producing work of a high standard throughout lockdown and making rapid progress on her EPQ having on started in at Christmas – a fantastic effort! Mr Charlton

Student Shout Outs

 Online Enrichment Opportunities: Speakers For Schools Program

• You can join without needing an account – Watch how here

Oddballs
Next Friday we have an interactive talk from Sam@ OddBalls . This talk will focus on raising awareness of Testicular Cancer, it is for all year 12 students. The talk is fun, informal and gets students thinking about really important health issues from a less serious perspective. More information about the charity can be found here;  https://www.myoddballs.com/pages/charity

Wellbeing – Mindful Monday

Collective Worship
Throughout Lent we continue with our Pilgrim Pathways theme in Form Tutor Collective Worship. Our fifth item is shelter. In Form Tutor Collective Worship we will find out more about the shelters found on Lindisfarne in Northumberland, also known as Holy Island, and where we can take shelter during the storms of life. Our daily quotes are also on the theme of Shelter.

Monday – “This life will never be without storms. Stop fearing the storm. Build your inner shelter.” – Yasmin Mogahed; American Muslim writer on spirituality, psychology, and personal development