Headteacher Update

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are rapidly approaching the summer exam season at school. If as a family you require any kind of additional support please do not hesitate to contact school. As well as the important GCSE, A Level and BTEC examinations this also applies to students in younger year groups, who have, or will shortly be having, their first proper assessment week since we were impacted by COVID-19. The message for all our students is the same, one that was delivered in Collective Worship to Year 11 on Friday, that we are very proud of their hard work and resilience and are here to help and support in any way we can. This is echoed below from the Year 11 pastoral team:

With only 5 school days left until we start the GCSE exams, each day counts. Wake up each morning with determination and go to bed each night satisfied that you are one step closer to showing all your hard work is worth it. Good Luck- Y11 pastoral team are all behind you.

I would also like to thank Year 10 families for attending Parents Evening in such large numbers last week, this partnership working is very much appreciated. Year 10 students have two exciting weeks of Work Experience ahead and Mr Avery has included important information in his section below that families should read carefully. Thank you.

Inclusion Corner
We are delighted to tell you about our brand new, half-termly inclusion newsletter coming very soon. Each half-term, our new Inclusion Corner newsletter will aim to: share important information and links to inform parents/carers on Special Educational Needs, shining a spotlight on a different area of need; celebrate our students’ achievements, both in and out of school; publicise news and events that may be of interest to our SEND parents/carers; and finally, introduce parents/carers to each member of our inclusion team here at AHS. Please look out for the first edition coming soon.

Just as we did last year in terms of adding additional pastoral capacity through the appointment of Assistant Heads of Year, a School Nurse and a School Counsellor we are pleased to say that we have further strengthened our support for students by appointing an Assistant SENDCo to work alongside Miss Holmes as well as the additional capacity Miss Woolerton offers as the Senior Leader overseeing Inclusion. All parents of students with an EHCP will have received a letter home last week/early this week, providing more detail and inviting you to a Meet & Greet in the final week of term.

Weekly Update – ClassCharts Merits for Week 29
Many thanks for the ongoing communication in terms of ClassCharts and how we can ensure that this works as effectively as possible for all families.

It’s been another good week for merits on ClassCharts. Staff have continued to take to the new system well, and a whopping 14,867 merits have been awarded across the school this week (and that’s even taking into account the shortened week with the bank holiday!)

Here is an interesting breakdown of the average merits awarded to students in each year group, and the names of some exceptional performers… (bearing in mind that we have had a shortened week, and Year 9 were out of school on Thursday!)

Well done to Year 7 (again!) for achieving the highest average merit score last week, and a very well done to those individuals who achieved the highest number of merits in each year group!

You will also begin to notice that messages will be coming through on the ClassCharts app when certain merit milestones are reached – we have a select few already that have achieved 50+ merits in the first two weeks which is excellent! When further thresholds are crossed in this final term of the year, parents will be receiving letters home from the school in recognition of these excellent achievements.

Just another reminder – in September we will be launching the Archbishop Holgate’s School ‘Rewards Store’, where students can exchange their merits for prizes, and even make charitable donations in their name if they so wish. We will also have a new system of letters and certificates ranging from the ‘Bronze Award’ to a ‘Special Commendation’ based on how many merits students achieve. For this first term of Merits on Classcharts, you will receive a notification when your child crosses certain merit thresholds, as well as letters home as recognition for their achievements.

Head of Year Awards
Please find the Head of Year Awards for Week 29 we will have a bumper week for Year 10 when they return from WEX.

Head of Year Updates
Year 7 – Miss Kincell, Miss Powell and Miss Cooper
We have been so impressed this week with how maturely students have approached their revisions for their End of Year Assessments next week. Walking around school we have seen both lessons and form time abuzz with productivity and an eagerness to succeed. It is clear students have enjoyed a year of much-less disrupted learning and are keen to show what they have achieved.

We would like to take a moment to again reiterate that next week should hopefully feel like a mostly normal week, there shouldn’t be any high stress environments in lessons or a significant increase in personal revision. If any students are worried please ask them to come to see a member of the Year 7 team.

Well done to our Students of the Week this week:
7Ann – Will Gelissen – For being a supportive and reliable friend and for your excellent involvement in extra curricular activities.
7ASu – Katy Ward – for making an excellent effort on her school work this week!
7Bl – Maisie Bone – delightful and helpful member of the form
7Cy – Taylor Blogg for always being prepared for the school day
7Gr – Dominic Charlesworth – for living the school values. Well Done!
7Hf – Mason Fleetham for excellent contributions in Chapel.
7Hv – Hollie Brierley- for living out the school values every day
7MLn – Charlie Taylor – For always being considerate and helpful, well done and thank you!
7MPe – Eva Krauca – for always being compassionate and caring
7Mr – Tom Wilson for living out the school values
7SMf – Lexi Thompson – For her incredible effort to live out our school values in her dance competition in America! Congratulations.

Well done to our Head of Year Awards:
Well done to Charlie Taylor 7Gr – for being so supportive to our year 10 students who are going on work experience!
Well done to Florence Davis – for being an excellent student and so helpful and caring to others!

Library Newsletter
It’s national lost sock day. We have been chatting about what we could do with an odd sock, as well as wondering where they all go. Suggestions for the odd socks were to use it as a duster, make a puppet or a phone case, or even use it as somewhere to hide your pocket money. Don’t forget we have an odd sock day later in the year as part of our anti bullying week. You will be encouraged to wear your favourite odd socks. It’s to symbolise that we are all different and that you should be yourself, accept one another and celebrate difference. So, if you have a single sock, don’t throw it out! As it was Great Poetry Reading Day at the end of April, we thought we’d have a go at combining the two days. We tried to write poetry about a lost sock. Here’s one we came up with;

What has happened to my sock?
The pair went well with my new frock.
I started off with a brand-new pair,
but now one’s gone I know not where.
If I go barefoot you’ll get a scare,
because on my toes there’s lots of hair!

Please let me know if you can come up with a better one. Some of our favourite books have the word lost in the title, here are a couple that you have enjoyed, so thought I should recommend.

City of Lost Souls – City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare (Quiz 222923. Level 5.1. Colour Green) Is book 5 in the Mortal Instruments series. We continue to learn about Jace, who is now bound to be a servant of evil. He needs to be rescued, but only a handful of Shadow Hunters believe that he can be saved. The series is located on the Dark Romance shelf. Many of you overlook this genre, but this book would sit quite happily alongside Fantasy or Horror. The Dark Romance section is definitely worth a look. You can read an extract by clicking on the link below. https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/City_of_Lost_Souls/G7VLzk6pDP4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

The Lost Stories – The Lost Stories by John Flanagan (Quiz 225017. Level 6. Colour Blue) is the second book in the Ranger’s Apprentice series. These books we recommended to me by a Y8 pupil, who wanted to borrow them during lockdown. Luckily, he lived locally and I could deliver them by bicycle! The whole set is now available from the library.

Professor MacFarlane is overseeing an archaeological expedition when his assistant, Audrey, finds a little house in an area which is outside the village limits. Inside, Professor MacFarlane finds stories that tell what happens to the Rangers on their return from Nihon-Ja.

As usual you can read an extract by opening the following link. https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Lost_Stories/pItNqfpHtPAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

Free 10 Minute Reads with Audio
Excited to have found this one. Why not take a look, and find one to read to a younger sibling? They can look at the images whilst you read to them. Fantastic if you have already read all of the story books in your house. Just use the link below. Most all of them have a link for you to listen to the audio version, so, either close your eyes, relax, and listen, or sit with a youngster in your family and read along together, listing to the audio at the same time. The books available are suitable for readers aged seven to twelve. https://www.storyberries.com/category/10-min-stories-free-bedtime-stories-poems-fairy-tales/

Free 10 Minute Classic Reads
I’ve just checked that the following link still works. I have sent this out before, but it’s worth having a look at if you didn’t sign up last time. The 10 Minute Read is free, and you will be sent ten minutes of a classic novel every day. Sometimes classics can seem a bit daunting, so a ten minute ‘chunk’ is ideal. You may want to read it on your phone. If so, you can either use the link, or just google free 10 minute read and the link will come up. Perfect for the bus journey home! The first book is picked for you, after that you can choose your own. https://www.10minutereads.com/?fbclid=IwAR0xW-KHf0fDythHRiAT4BTh4st3vD2MYFYWi3CATrq-Qo-Y0fUEuF_UPu4

Book Suggestions/Donations
We will be looking at a book order to restock the library ready for September and need your help. Maybe you’ve read something amazing, or borrowed a series from York Explore that we don’t currently stock. If you have any suggestions of what you think students would like to read, please let me know.

Also, if you have any books that you no longer want to read, but think that someone else will enjoy, remember that we are always happy to accept donations. We currently stock books from the reading age of nine upwards.

Year 8 – Mrs Avey, Mrs Mennell and Mr Handley
Well done to our Year 8s who have continued their successful start to this half term. We’d like to give a massive congratulations to 8Ob who have achieved their second week of 100% attendance the week before and were able to celebrate together as a form on Friday with a pizza party. 8Ob are currently setting the attendance bar high – well done!

This week in our Acts of Collective Worship we looked at finding common ground as a Year Group. We want students in Year 8 to think about and focus on what they have in common with others as opposed to what makes others different. This is really important in developing an inclusive year group and is an important part of our school values compassion for all, justice within the year group as well as helping to build trust

Extended form time this coming week on Friday for this half terms PHSCE session. Year 8 have responded really maturely to these sessions and have really impressed their form tutors. So far already we have looked at healthy relationships, emotional wellbeing, puberty and careers and aspirations. These sessions are invaluable to the wider education students receive here at AHS.

We’d also again like to remind parents about getting logged on and using their Classcharts account. If you have any issues or need any support with using Classcharts please do get in touch and we will be happy to help. If the code that was sent home does not work we will be able to send out one that will that will enable you to access the profile for your child

Following on from our long list of PE award winners in last week’s bulletin there was a Girls Rugby Tournament held at our school this week. The girls gave it their all and played very well and represented the school with Pride. Also, in a show of real compassion, some of the girls also played for another school who had not managed to fill a full team. Well done to the following:

• Aela Moore
• Ruby Holland
• Lilly Hemmings
• Jessie King
• Hannah Birkinshaw
• Lilly Walker
• Sophie Beard
• Danuli Jayawardena
• Angela Hettiarachchige

We would encourage parents to read this week’s School Newsletter sent out on Thursday. This includes a big section for Year 8 with updates from each form tutor on how their forms are getting on.

As ever, thank you for your continued support. If you have any issues regarding your child in Year 8, please do contact school reception to get in touch with Mrs Avey (Head of Year 8), Mr Handley (Assistant Head of Year 8), Mrs Mennell (Year 8 Pastoral Support Worker) or Miss Clarke (Year 8 Pastoral Support Worker on Friday).

Year 9 – Mr Arthur, Mr Deamer and Mrs Deacon
It was an absolute pleasure to take Year 9 out for their final cultural experience trips! I really feel that our young people had a great day and represented Archbishop Holgate’s so well, I am extremely proud of their attitudes to the experiences on the day and their manners to the general public as well as staff at the Royal Armouries, Media Museum and Sculpture Park, they should be proud of themselves.

Now we are two weeks into the Summer term I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents and students about our uniform expectations. As you may already be aware hoodies are now no longer to be worn during lesson time. I very much want Year 9 to be the leaders in the school for driving these standards forward. It is vital students are turning up on time, and wearing the correct uniform – these are basic standards within school which I know the vast majority of our students meet consistently. If a student struggles with either of these, as a pastoral team we can of course offer support. However, students must ensure they are compliant, and follow staff instructions to follow a reasonable request in making sure they meet these most basic of standards. So far, Year 9’s uniform has been excellent, and I really want to see this continue as we progress throughout the rest of the year, if you need any support in acquiring a uniform please let the pastoral team know and we are more than happy to help.

Just a reminder we ask all parents/carers to download the Class Charts app for both themselves and our young people to download it also, it is a great tool to utilise to see your child’s attendance, rewards, messages from teachers and detentions, if you are unsure on how to download/get set up please get in touch and we can help. It really is a vital tool and we appreciate your support. Those who have already downloaded it and are using it I hope are already seeing the benefits, any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

With the weather being nicer and the summer term comes a revision of the extensive extra-curricular programme which has been updated for the next half term. I know how enriching these clubs can be for our young people including learning new skills as well as meeting new people, please feel free to encourage your young people to attend.

Please find a copy of our extra-curricular programme here: https://archbishopholgates.academy/ahs-journey/enrichment-opportunities/

Finally, a big congratulations to the students winning the Head of Year Award last week…

Thank you for taking the time to read this parent bulletin. If you have any issues regarding your child in Year 9, then please do get in touch by emailing aarthur@ahs.pmat.academy (Head of Year), mdeacon@ahs.pmat.academy (Assistant Head of Year) and/or rdeamer@ahs.pmat.academy (Pastoral Support Worker); or alternatively, you can call Main School Reception and we will get back to you as soon as we can, thank you – Miss Deacon.

Year 10 – Mr Avery, Miss Johstone and Miss Montagu
It’s been a really positive atmosphere from Year 10 this week, as they look forward to undertaking work experience over the next fortnight. It has been really nice chatting with the students about where they are going and what they hope to get out of the placement, and I hope they return to school with a better idea of how the world of work operates!

The students have done very well to secure their placements, as I know they have faced many challenges, much uncertainty and consistent rejections in a post Covid world. I hope the resilience they have shown in finding work experience adds to their experience and helps build important life skills for the future. After a massive push over the last fortnight, we currently have 290 students ready to go on their work placements.

I sent an important letter home with the students this week, however I thought it would be useful to put some extracts in this bulletin focussing on the frequently asked questions we have received.

What if my child is too ill to work during the placement?
Please ring the employer to explain that your child will not be able to work on that day. Please also contact school, so we can keep a record of this and not visit the student on placement that day.

What if my child does not have a placement?
We are running a timetable in school for the students who have been let down or have not secured a placement. They will undertake a two week timetable where they will be taught one off lessons by teachers across a range of subjects. They need to register every morning in HI5 at 8:45am.

What if my child only has a one week placement?
If your child has only managed to secure a one week placement, please send them into school to follow the curriculum we are running in school during the week they are not on placement.

Who should I contact with any safeguarding concerns while my child is on placement?
Should you have any concerns regarding your child’s happiness, welfare or safety while on placement, please contact out designated safeguarding lead Gaynor Stainsby, or a member of the Y10 pastoral team immediately.

Should you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact either myself, or the Careers Administrator Meg Overton and we will be happy to help. Despite the students being out on work experience over the next fortnight, the Year 10 pastoral team is still very much available to discuss any concerns or questions you may have. I hope our Y10 students enjoy their work experience placement, and continue to build their skills in preparation for their future ambitions. I can’t wait to hear all about their experience when they return on the 23rd May.

Year 11 – Miss Turvey, Miss Reeder and Miss Chambers
Our Year 11 students continue to work hard and make fantastic accomplishments each day. They continue to make us exceptionally proud of them and we keep wishing them all the best in the run up to their exams. This week will be Year 11’s final week before their exams begin and we wish to say a huge thank you for all that they have done so far; they just need to keep going as they are – we are nearly there now!

Early this week, students will receive a letter detailing their invitation to Prom. Throughout the year, students have been aware that getting a prom ticket for free is a reward for high achievement, effort and attendance. For those students who have achieved over 300 merits or 100% attendance, they have been rewarded with a free Prom ticket (the majority of students over this threshold will have received this already). Well done to all of our students who have made this excellent achievement and earned a very well-deserved reward! If your child is required to pay for their ticket, this will be payable on Wisepay from the point your child receives their letter up to the deadline of Friday 10th June. If your child has been asked to pay and is unsure about why this is, please do encourage them to speak to their Form tutor or one of the Year 11 team and we will hold a conversation with them about this.

The final student Prom Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday 10th May after school in EN1. This will be led by Mrs Reeder to settle some important final details, including arrangements for the Prom Awards on the night.

We are also excited to share that Y11 Leaver’s Hoodies and Yearbooks have arrived and tutors will begin distributing these on Monday morning. Students were told in Assembly that they will be able to wear their Leaver’s hoodies over their school uniform in all lessons and around school for the remainder of their time here. The only time students will be asked to remove their hoodies will be for their exams. We do expect that the rest of Year 11 school uniform should be upheld to the usual high standards whilst students are in school and acting as role models to all of our younger students. We are grateful in advance of your support with this. The Y11 Yearbooks look fantastic with lots of photos and tutor comments. A huge thank you to Mr Smith in reprographics for his fabulous contribution here. Students can begin to get these signed by their friends and teachers (if desired) as soon as they receive them. After students complete their final exam (Thursday 23rd June), they will be invited to the front field where there will be an ice-cream van for final goodbyes, shirt signing and a last opportunity to collect Yearbook signatures.

Year 11 students will continue to be in school as normal this week and are expected to attend all of their lessons. This remains very important in the build up to the exams as teachers go over final important information and consolidate revision. Last week, Miss McDermott (Deputy Head) led an important assembly detailing information for exams. When exams begin, students will attend morning Form time as normal every day over their exam period to ensure they are equipped for the day ahead and know where to be. As part of the assembly, it was made clear to students that, as these are external examinations, the Y11 team and school staff have little power to accommodate or intervene when students deviate from exam stipulations. Students are reminded of the vital need to be vigilant throughout the exam period to ensure they are in school on time every day, punctual to all of their exams, ensuring their mobile phones are off and left outside the exam hall, and demonstrate impeccable behaviour. We will be providing breakfast for Year 11 students every day during the exam period from 8:15am in the Courtyard café where the Year 11 team will be on hand to answer questions and resolve any issues. Attendance to this is not compulsory, just an extra layer of support for those who want it. If your child has any questions ahead of exams, please encourage them to speak to their Form tutor or Year 11 team this week.

Next week, students will have their final Friday assembly which will be an Act of Collective Worship led by Miss Turvey. Friday assemblies will be suspended during the exam period to give students some breathing space and wind-down time in their Form rooms.

This Friday will be the Boggle Hole trip for those students who are going. We have been excitedly preparing for this and are looking forward to an excellent period of revision and important social/wind down time ahead of the exams. Students involved selected their menu choices on Friday; we will eat an early dinner when we arrive followed by takeaway pizza later in the evening. On Saturday, students will be provided with breakfast and lunch. We will be departing straight after school on Friday 13th and expect to be back at school on Saturday 14th around 3pm (although we anticipate it could be earlier). Students will attend a short assembly with Mr Avery this week to go through a detailed itinerary and have the opportunity to ask any final questions. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact school reception who will put you through to the Y11 team.

If you have any issues regarding your child in Year 11, please contact school reception who will alert the Year 11 team: Miss Turvey (Head of Year 11), Miss Chambers (Assistant Head of Year 11) Mrs Reeder (Year 11 Pastoral Support Worker) or Miss Short (SLT). Thank you.

The Year 11 Team

Post 16 – Mrs De Lashley, Mrs Walton, Miss Balmer and Mr Charlton
Exams this week

REMINDER Punctuality – We are pleased with how many of our Post-16 parents have downloaded and are using Class Charts since the migration over Easter. It allows prompt communication and you can track your son/daughters attendance and punctuality amongst other things. Since ‘Lates’ to school are communicated home via Class Charts it is important to highlight that if a student is not in their form room on the morning registration bell (08:45), they will be entered on the register as late which will trigger the related sanction if no good reason is given. Students cannot just be in the building, they must be in form.

REMINDER: Y13 Leavers

• Y13 Leavers Celebration Thursday 19th May (Main Hall 7pm)
• A Level stand down Friday 20th May
• Prom Friday 24th June (Hilton, York)

Sixth Form Rewards – As we have transitioned to Class Charts we have moved with the rewards system and no longer collect student shoutouts. Below are this week’s rewards. These are basically positive acknowledgments from staff. When we have been using this a few more weeks we will establish an appropriate set of rewards suitable for our cohort. So far it has been used well and students are receiving lots of acknowledgement. If you have not yet signed up for Class Charts, please do. You can track these rewards live.

Collective Worship
This week our Form Tutor Collective Worship is entitled ‘Teflon – how to clean up the mess’. This and our daily quotes reflect on how we need to accept responsibiltiy in our lives and try to create strong, healthy non-stick relationships.

Quotes

Monday – “The difficulty we have in accepting responsibility for our behaviour lies in the desire to avoid the pain of the consequences of that behaviour.” – M. Scott Peck, American psychiatrist and author

Tuesday – “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” – Abraham Lincoln, 19th century American president

Wednesday – “In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” – Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady of the USA

Thursday – “You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.” – Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker

Friday – “The willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life is the source from which self-respect springs.” – Joan Didion, American author

The Wellbeing Newsletter Issue 52