Parent Bulletin

Dear parents and carers,

Last week, we were delighted to celebrate being awarded BTEC School of the Year 2022 at the BTEC Awards. To have this recognition from a key stakeholder in the education system is fantastic. We are proud of the hard work and achievements of both the students and staff and we welcomed the opportunity to highlight the significant value BTEC qualifications have brought to our students over the years. To read the York Press article celebrating this achievement please click here.

This week, we look forward to another busy and productive week at Archbishop Holgate’s School. Our Year 11 students start their mock fortnight and we wish them all the best for these exams. This week we host a visit from the Bishop of Selby, we look forward to feeding back to you next week regarding this. As part of this visit the Bishop will meet students and staff and deliver an Act of Collective Worship to some of our students. Alongside this, Manny Duku from York City football club is visiting AHS. Manny will meet students and be involved in delivering Acts of Collective Worship to students. On Wednesday we welcome our families of Year 8 to the progress evening and we finish the week on Friday with the Christmas Fayre. We would love to see you at this event which runs from 5-7pm.

I would like to flag up that all students will be working towards the roller disco that takes place in the final week of term as part of our rewards programme. If you haven’t it would be great if you could please complete this short consent form for your child so that they can take part in the event by clicking here.

We also extend a very warm invitation to everyone connected with our school community to join us for the school’s Carol Service in York Minster on Wednesday 7 December.

Finally, as we get closer to the Christmas holidays I would like to remind families that Friday 16 December is our final day of term. School will close at 12:15pm on this day. We then look forward to welcoming students back to our school community on Tuesday 3rd January.

York Civic Trust Secondary Public Speaking Competition
Last week, Simeon Dean (8SMf) and Hannah Birkinshaw (9ECe) represented Archbishop Holgate’s in the York Civil Trust Secondary Public Speaking Competition. The participants were provided with a list of topic questions, and Hannah and Simeon chose the following to investigate the following question.

‘When the Amazon Rainforest is being destroyed, is there any point in aiming for zero carbon emissions in a small city like York?’

Hannah and Simeon argued that whilst York may be a small city, it could and should be a beacon of hope for other cities across the world in helping to reverse the impacts of climate change. Furthermore, the pair discussed how we can take inspiration from York’s past, present and future to promote green sustainability across the UK and beyond.

Both Simeon and Hannah had worked very hard in preparation for the event; researching, structuring, writing and rehearsing their speech. We are so proud of their performance, and they were outstanding ambassadors for the school! As you can appreciate, public speaking is something that takes a lot of courage, and Hannah and Simeon not only performed exceptionally well, but they took a lot of confidence out of the experience. Following the event, both students received a certificate from the Lord Mayor of York for their participation.

Their speech is also the introduction to a recent York Press article about the event, which can be found by clicking here.

We are incredibly proud of both Hannah and Simeon, and they represented the school superbly throughout the course of the evening.

Work Experience Launch Presentation Video – Year 10 and Year 12
A video recording of the Work Experience Launch is now on the school’s website – CLICK HERE in order to watch it.

Also, Year 10 students should have been sent their links to log into our new Work Experience portal, GroFar on their school email account (all of this is explained in the Work Experience Presentation on the website). Students can now start submitting Work Experience Placements on GroFar when they have secured them. They can also look at our log of placements we already have approval for if they so wish. For Year 12 students, they should receive their login email at some point next week.

Year 9 Pathway Process (Spring 2023)
Our Year 9 students will soon start to consider which subjects they will study at Key Stage 4 (Year 10 and 11). We are keen that students are given as much support and guidance as possible as they make these key decisions. There are certain subjects that all students must study by law and the Department for Education makes additional recommendations about some of the other subjects a student should study up to the age of 16. Nationally each student must study Mathematics, English Language & Literature, Science, Geography or History and where possible a Modern Foreign Language. At Archbishop’s all students will also study RE at GCSE. However, the school recognises that every child is an individual and as such offers different pathways and course combinations to allow all students to be successful in their studies at KS4. Further information regarding the pathways will be provided later in the year, at the GCSE Pathway Information evening as outlined below.

The dates below summarises the steps that are in place to provide support to parents, carers and students through the option process. Further details will be sent out to all Year 9 families after Christmas.

Key Events
Monday 5th December: Students will have a “Taster Day” assembly. During this time, they will be introduced to the different subjects available and will have the opportunity to select subjects which they would like to experience. At this point, students are simply selecting subjects they might wish to take; they are, in no way, making any firm choices at this point.

Tuesday 17th January: Year 9 Taster Day. Students will have an alternative timetable for half of the day where they will have the opportunity to attend different lessons, as selected in the Taster Day assembly. This provides an opportunity to understand what some of the new subjects entail.

Friday 20th January: Students are provided with a Pathway booklet and accompanying letter that provides details about courses and the process for students during a further Pathway Process assembly.

Thursday 26th January: Pathway Evening for students and parents. During this evening, there will be a presentation from the Deputy Head: Curriculum about the process and pathways; the opportunity to speak to Heads of Departments and the opportunity to discuss your child’s individual needs with a member of the senior team if needed.

Monday 30th January: Year 9 full reports are sent home. Reports will give parents/carers and students an indication of the subjects which are strengths.

Wednesday 1st February: Year 9 Parents Evening Parents and carers meet each of the teachers for their child and discuss their progress and sound out the potential to take the subject to GCSE standard.

Wednesday 8th February: Year 9 Pathway Options form deadline. All option applications must be given to Mr Williams by this date.

Wellbeing
Health and wellbeing is an important part of life at Archbishop Holgate’s School, in order to read the wellbeing newsletter for this week – please click here.

Head of Year Awards

Year team messages to parents and carers
Each week, the pastoral year teams will communicate any key messages, successes and upcoming dates to be aware of in this section of the parent bulletin.

A message from the Sixth Form pastoral team

Year 11 Sixth Form Applications:
Thank you to all those that have applied to date. Late applications are welcome this week. Receiving applications this early means that we can gauge subject numbers. It does not mean that applicants are obligated to take up their place if they are still undecided and applicants can change their subject choices if, and when they wish.

REMINDER Mock Results:
Please be reminded that those students in Year 12 and Year 13 that take BTEC mock exams will receive these promptly to allow preparation for the real external assessments in January. Year 13 students that sat A Level mock exams will receive results on Monday 12th December followed by Year 12 Parents Evening on Wednesday 14th December. Students requiring meetings to discuss intervention to support progression plans will take place wc 5th Dec.

A message from the Year 11 pastoral team
The weather this week has been awful with lots of rain and fog, putting an end to the lunchtime football games or having lunch on the outside picnic benches. However the spirits of Year 11 do not seem to be too dampened, with the buzz very much around the mock exams next week. The students have prepared really well, working hard in their revision lessons this week and making the most of the expert guidance they receive from their teachers prior to the exams. This week saw the students in Year 11 Art and Textiles undertake a 5 hour exam on Monday. I am pleased to report all the students did exceptionally well and their teachers were very proud of their achievements.

Mock exams were very much the theme of the assembly this week, where students were taken through the last important messages before the exams begin next week. Students were reminded that although these mocks are important, they should use it as a way to see where they are performing well and where they may need a little more focus before the real exams next summer. The students were reminded of the expectations of their conduct during the exams, and how we are very much going to mirror the conditions of the exams next summer. The students were reassured that the year team, form tutors and SLT will be there every step of the way to support them during the hectic two weeks, including offering early morning coffee, tea and hot chocolate at 8am for some last minute revision with friends.

Away from mocks it was brilliant to see the students in Year 11 competing in the cross country competition this week. Archbishops did exceptionally well, winning both the girls and boys events in Year 11. The conditions were cold and wet yet the students ran with exceptional skill and discipline. I am really proud of the students involved and delighted for their achievements this week. I also know many Year 11 students are hard at work practising for involvement in the minister service. I managed to get a sneak peak at a rehearsal earlier this week and it sounded excellent. I am really looking forward to seeing the students performing on the 7th December.

As always, should you have concerns or questions for the Year 11 team, please feel free to get in touch with a member of the Year 11 team.

A message from the Year 10 pastoral team
This week marks over the halfway point for this half term and it is flying by!

This week during the Year Ten collect worship a group of Post-16 students celebrated the wonderful achievement of our year group during Year 9. The Arts Award offers students an opportunity to excel and live our values of justice, compassion, forgiveness and trust into being. It’s so amazing to hear of pupil’s success stories in this area and the positivity from other members of staff celebrating achievement and progress. Students worked really hard to make the most of the Arts Award and I am delighted by their achievements! Well done Year 10!

We’ve had a few parents contact following the work experience launch and the work experience information is now live and on the school website. Please take the time to read the ‘Work Experience Launch Presentation’ if you would like to know more information. Work experience will be lasting for one week and will be running from Monday 15th May to Friday 19th May. For pupils to make the most of this week they should seek out an employer who works in a field that pupils feel they would benefit from knowing more about. It is recommended that pupils make contact with employers as soon as possible so that pupils are able to get their first choice of placement and are not disappointed.

As the weather turns more cold and wet, I would like to remind students and parents of our uniform policy. Pupils should wear a coat or their AHS hoodies. These should not be worn during lesson time. Non-AHS hoodies are not in line with our school uniform policy and should not be worn on school site. If you feel that you are not in a position to purchase a suitable coat for your child, please contact school and we will try to rectify this.

The Unity Fayre will be open 5PM to 7PM on Friday 2nd December in the school hall. This is a lovely evening and couldn’t happen with the kindness and generosity of people in our community making donations, so a huge thank you to our wonderful families who have kindly donated to help this event run. This money goes to people in our community who really need it and can make all the difference when students get to wear a prom dress or get vital pieces of equipment. Please come and support this event that we as a school community are so proud of!

Please be aware that on 12th December pupils will be given their school reports to go home to update parents/carers on their child’s academic progress.

As always please contact me via phone or email (cmcpaul@ahs.pmat.academy) with any queries or issues relating to your child. Alternatively Miss Deacon (mdeacon@ahs.pmat.academy) and Mr Deamer (rdeamer@ahs.pmat.academy) are available via email – thank you, Mr McPaul

A message from the Year 9 pastoral team
There is an air of excitement amongst many of the year group with this week seeing the World Cup kicking off. Year 9 have handled this excitement excellently and you can hear many conversations being had about Argentina, Brazil, or can the men do what the Lionesses did, and finally bring men’s football home. Year 9 have shown a maturity around the whole World Cup, both with games not being played during lessons and accepting that they can’t watch them, to being able to discuss some of the ethical implications about the hosts of the World Cup and the issues that have occured. This has provoked some interesting discussions about the impact of the World Cup in Qatar and if it should have been held there.

As usual we would like to highlight the importance of attendance. There are links between time missing from lessons and exam performance, so we would like as many students in school and learning as possible. However, looking after yourself and making sure you are well enough to be in is also just as important. You should not be worried about having time off school if you are ill, you should focus on your wellbeing and making sure you are getting better, ready to come back to school when you are well enough. Attendance last week was 90%. Well done to 9 NTh and 9CBe for a great week of attendance.

On Monday there was an extended form time through Period 1 lessons to explore our next PSHE topic. This time round forms were looking at consent. There were discussions about the asking of consent, about how to give consent, withholding consent and withdrawing consent. It was talked about in a wide variety of situations, from asking to borrow something, to asking someone to keep a secret. This then moved onto what happens if consent is broken and who could be considered a trusted adult to be able to talk about any of the situations that may arise from this happening.

Friday’s act of collective worship for the year group was taken by 9WNo looking into the history and traditions of advent around the world. We travelled from Denmark, to Germany via the Philippines and Mexico.

As always, if you need any questions answering please contact the year team.

A message from the Year 8 pastoral team
Our Year 8 students are continuing to brave the cold weather and impress us each day with their effort, kindness and extra-curricular achievements. We have also seen a lovely sense of camaraderie this week as many of our students share their enthusiasm for the World Cup!
This week is significant as we have Parents’ Evening taking place on Wednesday 30th November from 3:45pm-7:15pm. Students have been making appointments in preparation for this with Form tutors supporting where needed. On the evening, parents are invited to arrive via main reception to speak to teachers who will be gathered in the hall, gym and courtyard café. Parents’ Evening is an important event for school and home, providing a golden opportunity for you to gather information about how your child is doing in school and express your own views and priorities to each of your child’s teachers. Research has shown that good communication between school and home leads to improved attainment as well as a range of other outcomes, such as better attendance, behaviour and homework (Education Endowment Foundation). These outcomes are also more significant when the communication is positively framed from both sides, recognising our shared, long-term goal: to secure the best possible outcomes for your child. If you cannot attend Parents’ evening, we would politely request that you call school reception to let school know. Your child’s teachers may choose to call home if they have importation information they need to share.
On the evening of Parents’ evening, our Year 8 student council have designed and created a Christmas quiz for parents to complete at Parents’ Evening whilst you wait for your appointments. It will cost £1 to take part (please remember to bring £1!), with all proceeds going towards an additional Easter Reward for the year group. There will be a prize of a family Christmas hamper for the lucky winner!

On Friday December 2nd, we have the AHS Christmas Fayre taking place from 5-7pm in the main hall. This is always a lovely event with lots of fantastic stalls, games, food and raffles. All proceeds will be going towards the Unity Fund – an AHS charity collection which supports disadvantaged AHS students to access the same opportunities, uniform and basic necessities as their classmates. Year 8 will be doing our bit by running a games stall with the proceeds going specifically towards covering the costs of rewards experiences this year for disadvantaged Year 8 students who would otherwise miss out. Our students have designed and created some of the games for our stall from scratch during Form times, and members of the Y8 student council will also be running the stall alongside the Y8 team. We hope to see you there.

Finally, as the weather grows colder we would politely request that you prompt your child to wear a coat and/or an extra layer underneath their school shirt. Several individuals, many of whom we know have coats at home, have opted to go without at break and lunchtimes when it has been very wet and cold. Students are reminded that we have several indoor options available to them at break and lunch including the Courtyard café, main hall, Resource centre, Y7/8 library, or classrooms hosting extra-curricular lunch clubs where they can stay warm and dry.

Thank you for your continued support. If you have any queries or concerns about your child in Year 8, please contact school reception to speak to someone in the Year 8 team, or you can email reception@ahs.pmat.academy.

A message from the Year 7 pastoral team
It has been lovely to walk around school this week and see our year 7’s so settled into their daily routines. We are very proud of how they have taken all the new challenges they face in their stride and how they have gained their independence.

This week, many of our year 7’s received a certificate from Mr Williams (Deputy Headteacher) and Mr Green-Harding (Head of School) to celebrate their achievement completing the DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) homework over the half term break. The quality of the work produced by these students was exceptional and it is fantastic that year 7 are engaging with their learning in such an enthusiastic manner. Well Done to all of those who received a certificate!

We are delighted that so many students are representing our school in sporting fixtures, this week some of our Year 7’s represented our school this week in a Cross Country competition. Well Done to Hannah Lovett who won her race for our school! If any students are keen to get involved, please check our extra curricular timetable.

On Monday morning the whole school enjoyed a PSHCE hour, our year 7 form groups discussed friendships, emotions and trusted people in our community. The students engaged brilliantly and it was a pleasure to see them discussing ideas. On Thursday we invited some visitors to our weekly assembly from Good News for Everyone, with new testaments for year 7’s who wish to receive them.

As the temperature continues to drop and we are having more rain please ensure that your child wears a coat to school. Please also remember that if your child has a detention these are logged on the ClassCharts app.

Overall, it has been a fantastic week. As always, please remember to get in touch with any queries or concerns and follow our twitter @AHS_Year7 to keep updated on events and year 7 in school.

Well Done to our Head of Year Awards:
Hugh Jones 7Hv – for being compassionate to other students and living our school values in all you do. Well done, you have made a great start to year 7.
Seb Wilford 7Hv – For taking initiative and running an extracurricular club and helping others in year 7 to “join in”. Well Done!

Well Done to our Students of the Week:
7ASU – Archie Grant Pipes – for being a polite and chatty member of the form!
7CMM – Isabel Thomas- for always being so willing to contribute thoughtfully in our form time discussions-. This is greatly appreciated by all the members of our form.
7PI – Grace Buch – for doing exactly what she is meant to do all the time with no fuss or drama. Your calmness is appreciated Grace
7HV – Lily Robinson. – Excellent contributions during form discussions, well done!
7MPE – Joana Sola Farrus – For being voted as one of the year 7 school council members. Well done!!
7CST – Mamadou Bah- For being a lovely member of the form, Mamadou is coming out of his shell and really getting involved in form which is lovely to see. Well done Mamadou!
7MLN – Abbie Preece – for living our school values every day in all you do. Well Done!
7JHE – Courtney Naylor – for resilience over the week
7BL – Madeline Keel – for living our school values every day. Well Done!
7CY – Rowan Sharp – for being voted in as one of the school council members!
7ZBL – Daniel Patterson for his work during PSHCE this week.

Collective Worship

Theme
Our form tutor collective worship this week uses material produced by the Archbishops’ Young Leaders Award to be used in the Advent journey to Christmas. This second week is called an Invitation to Search. Our quotes are about searching for Truth.

Quotes
Monday – “Where I found truth, there found I my God, who is the truth itself.” – St Augustine, 5th C. Christian philosopher and theologian
Tuesday – “One must know oneself. If this does not serve to discover truth, it at least serves as a rule of life and there is nothing better.” – Blaise Pascal, 17th C. French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic writer.
Wednesday – “God’s truth judges created things out of love, and Satan’s truth judges them out of envy and hatred.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi. Died 1945
Thursday – “Truth and love are two of the most powerful things in the world; and when they both go together they cannot easily be withstood.” – Ralph Cudworth, 17th C. English priest, theologian and philosopher
Friday – “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” – The Bible, John 14:6