Headteacher Update

Head of Year Updates
Year 7 – Miss Kincell, Miss Powell and Miss Cooper
We are so excited for our penultimate week in school, we have the eagerly awaited Sports Day and lots of ‘last’ lessons. We were also very lucky this week to have been visited in assembly by Miss Chambers- Head of Year 8, Miss Waines- Assistant Head of Year and Miss Reader- Assistant Head of Year. It was great for students to start to get to know them before next year.

As is often the case with an exciting time of year, we have a few reminders to make sure all of our special occasions go to plan.

• Please can you ensure you have returned your consent for our Flamingoland Trip Monday 18th july as soon as possible.
• Please remember to keep using the enrichment week booklet to know which activities are each day. If you don’t have a booklet, please let us know.
• Sports Day is currently forecast to be glorious, so please do bring sun cream, a hat and a water bottle. It is always a gorgeous day where everyone is involved. Please remember you will still need your books just in case the lovely British weather changes!

If you have any questions about our upcoming plans, please do get in touch.

7ANn – Jaimie Bolton – for being a supportive buddy and for helping out at the year 6 induction events this week.
7ASu – Alex Briggs – for being a fantastic buddy and uniform model! Well done and thank you!
7Bl – Ella Chamberlain – a lovely member of the form who is always willing to help others.
7Cy – Sam Bastow – for being an exceptional buddy. Well Done and Thank you!
7Gr – A great thank you to 7Gr buddies – Amie Shaw, Tommy Bettany and Charlie Taylor. You were fabulous!
7Hf – Grace Moody – for never being moody! Always polite and positive.
7Hv – Marcus Dear – Excellent food lesson and fantastic effort and behaviour on the Geography field trip, well done!
7MLn – Brody Lee Allen – for having a superb couple of weeks at school. Well Done!
7MPe – Charlie Roe – For helping out with the year 6 transition week. You will be an excellent buddy in September.
7Mr – Demi Clarke for being a great advocate for the school values.
7SMf – Tilly Metcalfe – Endless enthusiasm, optimism and reliability. Tilly never fails to light up a room with her passion for school and her friends. Well done – take this forward into Y8!

Head of Year Awards
Maisie Bone 7BL For being an excellent school buddy and going the extra mile to support our year 6 students. Thank you and Well Done!
Izzy Noble 7HF For consistently living the school values and your excellent role as a buddy. You were a fantastic representative of our school. Well Done!

Year 8 – Mrs Avey, Mrs Mennell and Mr Handley
Our year group Act of Collective Worship this week was in two parts. Firstly, as our last whole year group collective worship, we wanted to take the chance to celebrate some recent successes. This includes several Year 8 students who have won regional athletics events and will go onto bigger competitions soon. We’d also like to congratulate Bea Garratt-Craig for her amazing success in being part of Team GB and winning in an international dance competition – this is an amazing achievement, well done Bea!

We also talked about respect and tolerance focusing on respecting other people’s cultures. A really important take away from this is a quote by Atticus Finch from the Book ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ (by Harper Lee) – “You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view – until you climb into their skin and walk around in it”. We really want our students to practice empathising with others and trying to understand the viewpoint of others as well as their own. We will talk more about this next year as we move along the AHS Journey with our Year 9 focus of ‘Understanding ourselves and others’. Being able to treat others this way will help students to live into being our school values of compassion, trust, forgiveness and justice.

This week in school we have three days as normal on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but the end of the week is different. On Thursday 14th July all Year 8 students will be taking part in the Trading

Game. This is a full day enrichment game based around the stock exchange. Previous year groups who have taken part have really enjoyed the day and gained a lot from it. This is part of our careers enrichment at school. The day will start and end at the usual time and will have normal break and lunch times. Students need to be in their full school uniform as usual and will need equipment for writing with.

Friday 15th of July is Sports Day. This is an excellent day and a really big part of the AHS school calendar. It is really enjoyable to see the whole school together taking part. The school day starts and ends at the same time as usual but all students will need to arrive in school in their correct AHS P.E kits as there is not enough space for all students to change into them. The weather this week is expected to be hot and students will be outside much of the day on Friday. There will be shaded areas the students can access if needed but it is really important our Year 8s bring a water bottle to help keep them hydrated and wear sun cream.

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 – any more donations would still be very helpful. 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
We are on the penultimate week of the school year and what a year it has been, although my focus right now is the next two weeks where we have some amazing opportunities for our young people.

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. If you are worried about paying for the trip please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. 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.

In assembly this week Mr Hunt came to speak to Year 9 about Industry Day which is being held on the last Thursday of term, students will be put into business teams with outside business experts who will help the design and launch their own business including making some products as well as working out budgeting such as profit and loss, this is a great opportunity for students to experience the real business world and meet with experts as well as develop work life skills. We ask students to come in smart business attire, this really gets them in the business frame of mind and I’m sure it will be a really successful day, I cannot wait to see the products our young people present! There is also a letter of permission for this also please can you return this as soon as possibly if you haven’t already, if your young person needs another one please ask them to ask their form tutors.

We also have sports day happening this Friday and our team captains have been selected and briefed so students will be asked to partake in different activities on the day, it is set to be hot all week including Friday so please make sure your young person has sun cream and plenty of water, as well as the correct PE kit.

This week in assembly we also announced to our students some changes in the pastoral team for next year. Mr Arthur and Mr Deamer both have exciting new opportunities within the school and are moving on from the Year 9 pastoral team. I for one know what fantastic role models they have been for our students and staff, as well as to myself, there dedication to the year group has been second to none and I know the students are sad to see them go.

We are joined next year by Miss Clark (who has worked with the year group this year) as Assistant Head of Year and also Mr McPaul as Assistant Head of Year, they have hit the ground running and already have been a presence in the year group and getting to know the students well. I myself (Miss Deacon) will be Head of Year, I truly believe our year group is outstanding and I am so excited I get to continue my journey with the Year 9s. I have got to know so many of them over the past few years and am really looking forward to continuing on their schooling journey with them, they are all fantastic individuals. Any questions about changes please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any of us (contact details below).

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!

Thank you for taking the time to read this parent bulletin. If you have any queries 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 – Miss Deacon.

Year 10 – Mr Avery, Miss Johstone and Miss Montagu
Last week’s highlight was our trip with 100 geographers to Leeds on Friday 8th July. We toured several sites of urban regeneration, doing pedestrian counts, surveys and interviews with members of the public. The aim was for students to focus on the question: ‘Have urban regeneration projects contributed to the quality of life in Leeds?’ By seeking to answer this question, students grow in their ability to analyse and think critically. The trip was rounded off by a visit to the Armouries Museum, with students free to wander round and explore.

The week beginning Monday 11th July is our final week of term before enrichment week. We will all aim to keep focused and study hard. Then we can relax and fully enjoy enrichment week, with lots of fun activities to look forward to, especially the trip to Alton Towers. Please complete the form on Parent Pay if you have not already done so. If you would like a paper copy, please come and speak to anyone in the Yr 10 team who will happily help.

Congratulations to Melissa Montgomery and Erven Colin for their enthusiastic participation in the Geography field trip. They have been awarded our Head of Year awards this week. Well done!

Should you have any concerns please feel free to contact the Yr 10 team.

Post 16 – Mrs De Lashley, Mrs Walton, Miss Balmer and Mr Charlton
REMINDER Year 12 Progression: Please return your reply slips for the transition letter to confirm that you can attend your progression meeting appointment. If you cannot then please let us know ASAP.

Year 12 Cambridge potential applicants: Another fantastic university visit last week but this time to Cambridge. They returned to school inspired and motivated. Another privilege to accompany them.

REMINDER GCSE Results Day and Sixth Form Enrolment: Invitations to results day on Thursday 25th August have been distributed detailing what to do to collect results 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 supporting them in making informed Post-18 choices
• Y12 Introduction to UCAS Evening Tuesday 12th July – we look forward to seeing our Year 12 families in the Main School Hall (moved from Sixth Form Library) for a prompt 6pm start
• Y10 Introduction to Sixth Form Evening Wednesday 13th July – we look forward to seeing Year 10 in the Main School Hall for a prompt 6pm start
• 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 ‘Faith’. We will consider what this word means and also how it is integral to the remarkable life of Derek Rabelo. Our daily quotes continue this theme.

Quotes
Monday – “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” – Corrie Ten Boom; Dutch Christian who helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust
Tuesday – “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” – C. S. Lewis; Writer, lecturer and author of the Chronicles of Narnia
Wednesday – “Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right.” – Max Lucado; American Christian author, writer and preacher
Thursday – “The whole being of any Christian is faith and love. Faith brings the person to God, love brings the person to people.” – Martin Luther; 15th century German friar, priest and professor of theology
Friday – “Faith isn’t the ability to believe long and far into the misty future. It’s simply taking God at His Word and taking the next step.” – Joni Erickson Tada; Quadriplegic Christian author and radio host

The Wellbeing Newsletter Issue 59