Mr A Green-Harding
Head of School
Dear parents and carers,
I hope that families have had a safe and enjoyable summer. I am delighted to write to you in my new post as Head of School. It is an absolute privilege to lead the student experience and day-to-day school life at Archbishop Holgate’s and I look forward immensely to the year ahead. The school is an exceptional place for students to learn and flourish, both academically and on their personal development journeys. Working alongside Mr Daly in his capacity as Executive Headteacher, I look forward to ensuring that every child is happy, safe, valued, known as an individual and has their future aspirations realised.
Recently, we have celebrated with our Year 11 and Year 13 students as they received their examination results. We are incredibly proud of their achievements which are borne out through their commitment, hard work and determination. We are very much looking forward to Year 11 students joining Sixth Form as role models to our school community and we wish our Year 13 leavers good luck in their next steps. We are grateful to these students for contributing so much to our school community over the last seven years and for making our school such a special place to be part of. We hope that they leave having made strong friendships and happy memories.
Staff at Archbishop Holgate’s are especially excited to welcome students who are new to the school. This includes our new Year 7 cohort, who we enjoyed meeting during their transition day prior to the summer break, and students joining Year 12 from schools across the City and beyond. I wish all new students the very best as they start their journey and I encourage them to get involved in every opportunity available to them.
Below is a reminder of the return to school arrangements Mr Daly sent out earlier this week. Alongside this, I have included important information regarding reading at Archbishop Holgate’s. If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Our arrangements for the start of term are straightforward with all students returning on Tuesday 6 September following the staff training day on Monday 5 September. However, students in Year 8, Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11 will arrive slightly later to allow staff to welcome students new to the school. The details are below:
- Year 7 arrive for 8.45am and go straight to the main hall
- Year 12 and Year 13 arrive for 8.45am and and go to their form room (information for this is provided below)
- Year 8, Year 9, Year 10, Year 11 arrive for 10.05am and go to their form room (information is provided below)
The morning will consist of form time activities (for example issuing planners, timetables and discussing expectations) and a short assembly with myself and Mr Daly, before subject lessons start for all students at 11.15am. School will finish at 3.15pm for all students.
We ask that all parents/carers ensure their child knows their form room. This can be found on the attached document below ‘Pastoral Team 2022 to 2023’.
We hope that this is a helpful document and one that illustrates our ongoing commitment to pastoral care of the highest quality. It includes:
- Information about each year group (Head of Year, Assistant Heads of Year and Form Tutors) as well as some of what students can expect from the AHS Journey in each year group.
- Information about our wider pastoral team that is in place to support students.
- Information about who to contact if you have a concern you would like to discuss.
The document also outlines some of the key things that underpin effective partnership working. We are extremely grateful for the excellent support we receive from families which is essential to our ongoing success. I would reiterate the importance of these conversations being courteous and respectful at all times. On Tuesday 6 September every student will be issued with a copy of the ‘School Agreement’ and we ask that parents/carers discuss this with their child and the last page is signed by both student and parents/carers and returned to school as soon as possible.
A copy of the school day is included below. It is slightly amended from last year with all students finishing school at 3.15pm.
As we look forward to the start of term we would remind families of our uniform expectations and thank you in advance for your ongoing support in this area. We wrote to all families prior to the summer break explaining both our commitment to poverty proofing our uniform and also our high expectations for all students to wear the appropriate uniform. Details around school uniform can be found via the link below:
https://archbishopholgates.academy/parents/school-life/school-uniform/
A reminder about our pre-loved uniform shop and the school Unity Fund. The pre-loved uniform shop can be accessed via the link below and if families require support from the Unity Fund please email either gstainsby@ahs.pmat.academy or krobinson@ahs.pmat.academy for more information:
https://app.uniformd.co.uk/items/172
Reading
Reading, in all its forms, is central to the success of all students across the school and therefore is a key teaching and learning priority for this year.
A reminder that all students in Key Stage 3 and 4 should have a reading book with them each day. This is an important piece of equipment which they will access throughout the school day. If students need to borrow a library book, both the Year 7 and 8 Library and the Resource Centre will be accessible from Tuesday lunchtime.
All students in Key Stage 3 will read independently everyday, including for the first 5 minutes of each lesson, and therefore they should have an appropriate book which they are happy to read.
Alongside this, all students in Year 7 and Year 8 will be taking part in the relaunched Accelerated Reader programme. Students will learn more about this during their first English lessons and a more detailed guide will be provided once this starts.
The word of the week for week commencing 5 September is:
Assemble
To gather together in one place for a common purpose.
The students had assembled outside the classroom.
Collective Worship
Theme
The theme for our form tutor collective worship at the start of term is building firm foundations and looks at a parable Jesus told about doing this. Our daily quotes are on the theme of Foundations for Success.
Quotes
Monday: “There is no excellence without difficulty.” – Ovid; Roman poet
Tuesday: “The roots of true achievement lie in the will to become the best that you can become.” – Harold Taylor; Canadian politician
Wednesday: “A successful individual typically sets his next goal somewhat but not too much above his last achievement. In this way he steadily raises his level of aspiration.” – Kurt Lewin; German-American psychologist
Thursday: “To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.” – Anatole France; French poet, journalist, and novelist
Friday: “Ask the Lord to bless your plans, and you will be successful in carrying them out.” – The Bible; Proverbs, chapter 16 verse 3
Finally…
Each week, I will write to you as part of the parent bulletin to share key information regarding school life, upcoming events, opportunities, student successes and year group messages. Mr Daly, in his role as Executive Head, will communicate to you via the weekly newsletter. As highlighted in recent communication, I will support Mr Daly with the day-to-day running of the school as he retains overall leadership. As such, for any queries that can not be answered by the curriculum or pastoral leaders, I would be the next port of call. Equally, if you have good news stories then I would warmly welcome them. I look forward to writing to you next week to update you on our first week back in the new academic year.