Headteacher Update

Head of Year Updates
Year 7 – Miss Kincell, Miss Powell and Miss Cooper
As we approach the end of Year 7, the exciting transition into Year 8 has begun and the new Year 8 team would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves.

My name is Miss Chambers and I will be Head of Year 8 next year. I have been an English teacher at Archbishop Holgate’s school for six years and am currently a Year 11 Pastoral leader. As a teacher, I am often described as being calm, consistent and creative. I have spent a number of years as the PP lead for English supporting disadvantaged students and I have also been a Year 7 Form tutor for many years so I remember very well the challenges and excitement of Year 7. Outside of school, I enjoy creative writing, art, walking, camping, cooking and travelling. Students will often see me using my skills to get involved in the extra-curricular life of the school – I accompany the AHS Ski trip, go camping with students for DofE each year, and have volunteered for the Y7 Bewerley Park trip every year too. My Bewerley Park group can usually be spotted as the muddiest! Having overcome the challenges of a disadvantaged background in my own childhood, my inspiration for being a teacher and pastoral leader is working to give every child the best possible experience and opportunity to achieve their full potential.

My name is Miss Waines and I will be an Assistant Head of Year 8 next year. I have spent the last year at Archbishop’s as a year 8 form tutor and several years as a designated year 7 form tutor before that so I am looking forward to helping our current year 7s as they move into year 8. As a form tutor, I have prided my groups on the amount of merits they have collected and their positive attitudes; something I am hoping to instill in our current year 7s. I have had the pleasure of teaching three year 7 groups English in the last year so I know quite a lot of faces already and am looking forward to getting to know the others as well. As the groups I have taught will already know, I have three dogs I am obsessed with and love spending my time at the weekends walking them out in the countryside. As you would expect from an English teacher, I also love reading and would love to have a chat with any of our students about what they’re reading at the moment. If I wasn’t an English teacher, I would probably be a history teacher as I also love learning about different time periods and visiting different places of historical significance.

My name is Mrs Reeder and I will be an Assistant Head of Year 8 next year. Last year was my first year at AHS and I fully enjoyed getting to know my Year 11s so really excited to get the opportunity to spend 4 years with this year group. I would describe myself as a resilient, approachable and enthusiastic individual who loves a challenge. Outside of school, I am a mum of two young children who like to keep me on my toes. I also have a great passion in sport where I coach Athletics for young people with additional needs, as well as enjoy playing netball. The thing I am looking forward to most is getting to know you all and being a part of helping and supporting you achieve your goals in school whether this is academically or in extra-curricular activities.

Next year, the theme of Year 8’s AHS Journey will be ‘Opportunities’ and this will underpin our vision. We want every child in Year 8 to have the best possible experience in school and feel safe, happy and fulfilled each day. Some of the new opportunities we will offer (including a Year 8 student council and Year 8 Wellbeing group) will help students to feel included and listened to. We will also continue a high profile of Rewards for students in Year 8 including Students of the Week, the Class charts stationary shop, half termly Pizza parties for the best attending form and individual recognition in the form of Gold Award and free break time snacks. As with every year at AHS, we will also have high expectations of our students and will accept only the very best behaviour, manners and conduct around school. We will be working to support any students who need help to meet these expectations.

Well done to our Head of Year awards:
Kaydee Roberts 7ASu – for being fantastic in the interviews for our wellbeing award. Well done!
Daniel Ajulo 7Hf – for always getting involved in the AHS community and living out the School values in every way. Well done!

Library Newsletter:
Last week in the library we celebrated the fact that we have many students that started their life and/or went to school in a different country, where they spoke their own language before coming to AHS. Now, all their lessons are taught in English. We had fabulous students who were brave enough to sit at the front of the library in our pop-up theatre space, to talk about, and take questions on what the differences are between their old school and AHS. We heard from students that had been to school in Hong Kong, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Canada, India, Ukraine, France, Darfur, Saudi Arabia and Portugal. How lucky are we to be able to find out about different cultures first hand!

Recommendations
We have a selection of books about moving schools. As with most all fictional novels, a lot of the themes are based on real life.

Yankee Girl by Mary Ann Rodman (Quiz 208256. Level 4.5. Colour Purple) tells the story of Alice, who in 1964 moves from Mississippi to Chicago. Alice is nicknamed Yankee Girl and is taunted by the in-crowd at school. Alice discovers that another new girl Valerie, was treated even worse than her. Alice knows she should do the right thing, but she knows she will remain the outsider if she speaks up. You can read the first three chapters by clicking on the link below. https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Yankee_Girl/3HiWBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf (Quiz 234973. Level 5.4. Colour Green) tells the story of Ahmet who joins a new school in a new country. My dad used to say that if you really, really, want something, you have to keep trying for it. I knew I wanted to be friends with Ahmet. I didn’t really know why, I just did. So, every day for two whole weeks, I waited by the gates at home-time. On the third week I took him the biggest orange I could find, with a smiley face I’d drawn on the skin. You can read the first four chapters by opening the link: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Boy_At_the_Back_of_the_Class/YgFHDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

This weekend is National Thank-You day. We have a set of blank coloured postcards that you can use to write a message to someone. Who would you like to say thank-you to in school? Think about your friends, teachers, kitchen/cleaning staff. We can deliver these postcards for you.

Stocktaking
We are requesting that all your library books are returned by 15th July. This is because we need to stocktake both libraries, and we can’t do this thoroughly if books are on loan. We will use the results of the stocktake to see where the gaps are, and will purchase books accordingly. Please have a look in your classrooms and bring any library books you find down to either library. Thank you for your assistance with this.

Year 8 – Mrs Avey, Mrs Mennell and Mr Handley
Attendance last week is still below what we’d like to see – Year 8 attendance this year has been really pleasing and we are really keen to see all of our cohort making the most of these last few weeks of lessons with learning continuing as normal until we get to Enrichment Week. We are grateful for your support in ensuring students are present in school.

We are receiving more returns for our enrichment activities including Flamingo Land and the Trading game. Thank you for getting these back into school. Please make sure to return these reply slips if you have not done so already. The school can help with financial support for Flamingo Land; if this is needed please do get in touch and we can help. For Friday in Enrichment Week students need to return their choices for the three sessions they would like to attend to the school reception. Certain sessions have group sizes and are on a first come first served basis. Please encourage students to make their selections ASAP as the deadline has already passed. Students will be placed randomly if they do not submit choices for the day. The available options are in the Enrichment Week booklets that went to the students at the start of the half term.

On Monday 18th July in Enrichment Week the students will be taking part in a Theatre Day that will include working across creative subjects such as English, Art, Music and Drama. This day of creative arts is designed to allow students to experiment with skills required to work in a variety of areas in the performing arts industry. Students will follow a carousel of tasks including: creating a film score, script writing, set designing and even the opportunity to perform for those feeling brave! All of the activities will follow a theme which we will announce on the day, which may involve aiming to evoke a little bit of fear in their audience members. We are very excited to give Year 8 their first taste of drama in school; we hope they are too!

This week in the Year 8 Library events were held to celebrate Refugee Week. Some students, not necessarily refugees, but who have come to our school from abroad were invited to talk about their experiences in being schooled abroad and here at AHS. The speakers were excellent and received high praise from our Librarian Miss Murphy and from the audience members. The students involved were excellent.

Although we have now received some really generous donations for the raffle that will be held during the Year 8 Coffee Morning on Wednesday 20th July – we are still hoping to receive more. We are really grateful for the support with this as it is a big ask. We are routinely blown away by the generosity and support of our local community. Any suitable raffle prizes are gratefully accepted. We’d also like to remind parents/carers that this coffee morning is open to members of our community so parents/carers of our Year 8 students are very welcome to pop along.

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
The end of the year is fast approaching, and Year 9 not only have a lot to look forward to, but a lot to be proud of. We are nearing the first FULL academic year that Year 9 have completed at Archbishop Holgate’s, and that is excellent to see and shows how far we have come.

In Collective Worship last week, we addressed the issue of Islamophobia as part of the school’s approach to tolerance and inclusion. Further to this, discussing topics such as this helps students in Year 9 to progress on their AHS Journey, where they focus on ‘Understanding yourself and others’. I began with a picture of a protestor in America holding a sign saying “Everything I learned about Islam, I learned on 9/11”, and how views like this can be so damaging to the Muslim community. We further discussed how there has been a rise in the number of hate crimes towards Muslims since 9/11, including in the UK. These attacks on Muslims tend to occur after widely publicised incidents from a fringe minority. In March 2019, a 28-year-old Australian man went into two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand and opened fire – killing 50 Muslims as they prayed. Those crimes have had a profound and deep impact on Muslim communities across the world, including here in the UK. A week after the atrocity, West Midlands police confirmed their counter-terrorism team was investigating attacks on 5 mosques in Birmingham alone! The motivation behind this violence wasn’t clear, but these attacks are designed to increase Muslim fears of vulnerability.

We discussed how most Christians are pluralists, meaning they believe that different religions can coexist. They do not see one religion as more important than another and view the major religions of the world as different attempts to understand questions relating to God, humanity and the universe. Unsurprisingly, they believe that Islamophobia is wrong and believe it goes against Christian teachings such as: “Love your neighbour” and “Treat others as you would like to be treated.” They also believe Islamophobia is an act of hatred and since Jesus preached acceptance and tolerance, Christians should work to welcome Muslims into their communities and defend them when they are unfairly criticised. We finished with the words of Amos Chapter 5 Verse 24, “I want to see a mighty flood of justice – a torrent of doing good.” We want to see people in our community being agents of good, showing kindness and compassion to others and working to prevent the spread of hate both within and outside of our own school community.

Another reminder that Enrichment Week is fast approaching (last week of school) and please can students return their Flamingo Land trip letters back as soon as possible if they have not already. I know the students are already excitedly talking about Enrichment Week including the range of activities offered on the last day of school. This will be the first time students in Year 9 will have experienced Enrichment Week as it has traditionally been done! Furthermore, students also need to make sure they’ve selected and returned their activity options for that last day to their form tutors or reception if they haven’t done so already.

Other activities that are fast approaching in this final half term is the London trip that Mr Stevens is running (please feel free to get in touch with him if you have any questions) as well as sports day in the second to last week where students will partake in a range of sports including athletics, cricket and rounders which I loved last year due to the support the students gave each other, I know I look forward to seeing them all cheer each other on, I know the Year team certainly will be!

Just a reminder with the weather getting warmer uniform standards still need to be high as always, please make sure your young person is coming in the correct uniform this includes making sure they have their ties on appropriately as well as the correct shoes and trousers, jumpers need to be with them even if it warm, especially because the weather can change quickly. Any issues please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Also well done to our Head of Year award winners this week as below a £5 Amazon voucher will be winging its way to both of you!

We have also started doing form tutor awards every week where two students in each form will get a certificate and it has got off to a really positive start, well done to all students who have got one so far.

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 Mr Arthur aarthur@ahs.pmat.academy (Head of Year), myself (Miss Deacon); mdeacon@ahs.pmat.academy (Assistant Head of Year) and/or Mr Deamer rdeamer@ahs.pmat.academy (Pastoral Support Worker) and/or Miss Clark sclark@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.

Year 10 – Mr Avery, Miss Johstone and Miss Montagu
The students of Year 10 have been absolutely superb this week taking part in their mock GCSE examinations. Despite a few nerves early on, the students have settled in well to the expectations of the school in terms of their conduct and behaviour while undertaking the exams. The students have worked hard in each of their examinations and their attendance and behaviour has been impeccable. They can be very proud of their achievements, and hopefully this experience will set them up for the lengthier mock period before Christmas in Year 11. Overall, I think it’s been invaluable to experience an examination period, and this will have a very positive impact on when they take their formal GCSE exams next year.

Because of their hard work across the year, I am delighted to announce that the students of year 10 have some very exciting events to look forward to at the end of the year. As in previous years, enrichment week will allow the students to take part in activities that go beyond their school curriculum, that should be fun, engaging and educational. For example, I know the maths department are working hard planning a day of maths quizzes, games and competitions, where students will work together and prizes will be on offer for the victorious teams. I also know the History department are working hard putting together a day looking back on the reign of Queen Elizabeth as she celebrated her platinum jubilee. Students will study major events and the extent of change the world has seen across her long and successful reign. The day will also include bunting, decorations and afternoon tea! I think the most exciting aspect of the last week for students is the opportunity to go to Alton Towers on Thursday 21st July. This is a wonderful and well-deserved opportunity for our students, who I hope have fun experiencing one of the best theme parks in Europe. Letters have already gone home regarding this trip, but should you require more information please feel free to contact a member of the year 10 team and we will be happy to help. As always, the final day of term will allow students to pick 3 activities they wish to try to expand their interests and horizons. From crafts to cricket, henna art to retro computer games there are over 40 sessions to choose from for students in Year 10. I hope they enjoy all their well-deserved rewards in the final week of term.

I am delighted to see an uptake in attendance this half term, with many of our students attending school on a more regular basis. Prior to mocks, we are tracking attendance at an average of 93%, a significant increase from the winter and spring term. However, we still have some work to do if we are to reach the all important 95% mark I set as a minimum for our students. Studies have shown that attendance below this can significantly impact on student progress. With Year 11 just around the corner, I want to get all our students into good habits with attendance before the hard work starts next year.

As always, should you have any questions regarding anything related to the last week of term or any other matter, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Post 16 – Mrs De Lashley, Mrs Walton, Miss Balmer and Mr Charlton
Year 12 Mock Exams – Year 12 sit their mock exams this week unless they are studying a BTEC that has already had an external assessment in May.

Year 12 Progression – Please return your reply slips for the transition letter distributed last week to confirm that you can attend your progression meeting appointment. If you cannot then please let us know.

Year 12 Oxbridge potential applicants – Our potential Oxford applicants visited Oxford on Wednesday and those that intend to apply to Cambridge will be visiting on Thursday. A great opportunity and a privilege for us to accompany them. Wednesday was a great success and we anticipate the same for Thursday.

GCSE Results Day and Sixth Form Enrolment – Invitations to results day on Thursday 25th August have been distributed detailing what to do to collect result and how to enrol in the Sixth Form. All applicants to AHS Sixth Form have been issued an appointment for a progression meeting with a member of the Sixth Form Team and SLT to finalise subject choices. Please get in touch if you cannot make the appointment.

REMINDER of upcoming events:

• Y12 Progression Days Monday 11th and Tuesday 12th July – students will be off timetable for both days
• Y12 Introduction to UCAS Evening Tuesday 12th July
• Y10 Introduction to Sixth Form Evening Wednesday 13th July – we look forward to seeing Year 10 there
• Y12 Work Experience wc 18th July
• Y13 and Y12 Results Day Thursday 18th August
• GCSE Results Day Thursday 25th August

Sixth Form Rewards

Collective Worship
This week our form tutor collective worship is on the concept of ‘Worry’. We will consider what things might make us worry, how we cope with worries and how Jesus interacted with a friend who was a worrier. Our daily quotes continue this theme.

Quotes
Monday – “Worry is interest paid in advance for a debt you may never owe.” – Keith Caserta, American author of Soul Searching
Tuesday – “Worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but doesn’t get you anywhere.” – Erma Bombeck, 20th C. American writer and humourist
Wednesday – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – Jesus, in the Gospel of John ch14:v27
Thursday – “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” – Corrie Ten Boom, Dutch Christian who helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II
Friday – “Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.” – Swedish Proverb

The Wellbeing Newsletter Issue 58