Parent Bulletin

Dear parents and carers,

Our school show, Fame, was the absolute stand out from last week. Quite simply it was superb. Thank you to all of you who supported the event – it was so well attended and received. However, a special thank you goes to all of our fantastic students who took part in the event, whether that be backstage, front of house or in the limelight! It was a privilege to watch the performance and it is a good reminder of what makes Archbishop Holgate’s School so special. I’d also like to extend my thanks to the staff involved who have also worked tirelessly with the students to help make the event such a success.

This week, we have the Year 9 immunisations taking place on Monday. Our Year 10 students have their official English speaking exams at the start of the week, these are mandatory part of the GCSE course and the students have been really well supported in preparation for these. The students have worked hard to prepare themselves for this assessed speaking presentation and I am confident that they will do very well. A small number of our Year 10 students will take part in a cultural trip to Newcastle on Tuesday, whilst our Post-16 Travel and Tourism students will enjoy a trip to Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Wednesday and a visit to Alton Towers on Thursday.

On Wednesday we look forward to welcoming our Year 11 families as part of our Progress Evening. This is a key opportunity for students to reflect on their progress and celebrate their achievements to date. During the evening, subject teachers will talk through how working collectively we can help to support every child achieve their aspirations. This is a key milestone in the lead up to the formal GCSE examinations which start Monday 15 May.

The Easter break is a very important time for our students in Year 11 and Year 13. It is important that these students take the opportunity to rest and spend time with family and friends. However, this is an important period in which students should be revising ahead of the summer examinations. It is key that students find the right balance over this two week period.

A reminder that school is closed to all students on Friday 31 March as this is a training day for staff. We then look forward to welcoming students back to our school community on Monday 10 April. Students will need to arrive in full school uniform ready for their morning registration which starts at 8:45am.

Finally, I wish you and your families a safe and happy break over the holiday period.

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

Wishing all our students and their families a happy and peaceful Easter break. Although the break is long enough to be very productive for those preparing for stand-down, we do hope all of our families have some well-deserved rest and hopefully enjoy some Spring weather.

BTEC External Assessment Results: results were issued last week and we are delighted with how students performed in both year groups. Both year groups have had 1-2-1 meetings to discuss next steps and current position.

REMINDER TEFL: this goes ahead on Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th April. A letter detailing the timings and location for the day has been issued to those signed up to complete the course. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

REMINDER Y13 A Level Mock Results:
Results will be issued as they have been marked and any necessary intervention will be communicated home. Students worked incredibly hard last week and we look forward to seeing the results of their labour. It should place them in a strong and confident position as they approach the summer exam series.

REMINDER Y13 Leavers’ Key Dates:

• (amended since letter sent home Friday 10th Feb) Leavers’ Celebration Service – Thursday 11th May (6:30-7:30pm in the Main Hall)
• (amended since letter sent home Friday 10th Feb) A Level Stand-down – Friday 12th May
• Prom – Friday 23rd June Hilton, York

A message from the Year 11 pastoral team

Year 11 have had a positive penultimate week of term and remain focused and productive. We are very close to the exam season and it is absolutely normal for students to feel a little worried at this stage. It is important that they are kind to themselves and for them to remember all the great things achieved so far.

Easter holidays are a week away and although we will be encouraging plenty of revision over the break, we also encourage self-care. Self-care is all about finding the balance, taking time to look after yourself by doing things you like, eating and sleeping well. If you don’t give yourself the time to unwind, your brain won’t have the opportunity to process the information from revision, and simply put – revision will become much more difficult. So structuring the days with bursts of revision and time for breaks/rewards (such as doing some form of exercise/hobby/seeing friends), can allow for optimum results.

Now, talking of Year 11s being superb, we would like to say a massive well done to all those that took part in the school show. You simply blew us away. There is so much talent in our year group (this does not go unnoticed) and you have really made us proud. The amount of hard work, dedication and time that went into the production is highly commendable. This is particularly impressive whilst also revising for exams. Well done!

Period 6s are running again this week and we wish to encourage all our students to attend as many as possible. Attendance makes a great difference to the student’s knowledge, confidence and overall performance. We currently have the Y11 rewards package, which allows the students to qualify for rewards based on their Period 6 attendance. This ranges from stationary packs toward their exams to £10 high street vouchers.

Finally, we look forward to seeing you all at Progress Evening on Wednesday. This will allow you and your child to receive some key last minute messages from teachers, as well as information about additional revision opportunities before the exams in the summer.

As always, if you have any queries or concerns, do not hesitate to contact the Year 11 team.

A message from the Year 10 pastoral team

Another whole term has quickly flown by, I cannot believe we are two thirds of the way through the year. One term left and soon after Year 11 have flown the nest following their exams our students will be the oldest in the main school, an exciting albeit maybe a scary thought having been with them from Year 8!

Firstly I must start with the fact I had the absolute privilege of seeing Fame on its closing night. I was blown away, the talent from the students, including Year 10, was second to none, a tear might have been shed, I was so proud. The students should also be extremely proud of themselves, I am also extremely grateful to the staff for the hours they have put in as well as the students with the amount of time given for rehearsals, but also to families; I know there will of been a great deal of taxiing to and from school as well as sorting out of costumes, practising and even seeing the show multiple nights! Furthermore, I volunteered backstage on Wednesday’s show, never mind the talent on stage, the politeness, the way the students conducted themselves was fantastic throughout backstage and was a joy to be part of.

Therefore a massive shout out to out Year 10s who took part (I hope I’ve remembered everyone’s name….!): Alex Beale, Amelie Darwin, Benedict Barrington, Bryn Wade, Dan Real, Declan Childs, Emily Barber, Erin Childs, Georgia Bell, Imogen Dean, Jasmine Lowe, Jonah Thwaite, Kathryn Seavers, Liv Howells, Matthew Lilley, Miles Hall, Oscar Rosen, Poppy Hearld, Rafi Garcia, Reuben Stockdale, Sarah Norman and Savelii Proskura. Well done to them all, Fame will certainly go down in the books as an outstanding musical.

To carry on the celebrations, our merits for last week are as below:

Top 5 Students:

1st: Kai Reed 10MHe 36
2nd: Toby Holliday 10KGn 28
3rd: Ronnie Thompson 10KGn 27
4th: Lucas Brannan 10RDn 26
5th: Sharanyo Mazumdar 10RDn 24

Top 5 forms:

1st: 10KGn 382
2nd: 10RDn 356
3rd: 10MHe 264
4th: 10JLi 255
5th: 10Pl 243

A big congratulations to all, nice to see some new names and forms in the top 5! As previously mentioned for the first bulletin back after Easter I will do the whole half term results which will then result in dishing out prizes for students. Following some parent feedback I am also going to try and do a prize for most improved in regards to merits, to highlight those students who have really tried in their efforts as well as the top students, who are consistently working hard. I do also do this for attendance as well as top attendance, it is important to celebrate a range of achievements. I know Mr Green-Harding shares the Head of Year awards every week, which can be given for a range of reasons, a number of parents have recently contacted me with out of school achievements. I love hearing these and have even awarded the Head of Year award for these achievements, please feel free to contact me and share them because I do love to hear about what our young people get up to.

Just a reminder of key dates:

• Next report home – the end of March – students should get these in form time this week.
• Year 10 Parents Evening – Wednesday 10 May
• Work Experience – Monday 15th May – Friday 19th May
• Year 10 Mock Exam Period – start Monday 19 June (two weeks)
• Final Year 10 Report with Mock Results – Monday 17 July

Finally I wish all our families the best for a lovely Easter break, if you do have any queries regarding your young person in Year 10, then please do get in touch by emailing myself (mdeacon@ahs.pmat.academy), Mr McPaul (cmcpaul@ahs.pmat.academy) and/or Mrs Robinson (jrobinson@ahs.pmat.academy) or calling main school reception and we will get back to you as soon as we can. Thank you – Miss Deacon.

A message from the Year 9 pastoral team

Another fantastic week for Year 9 and only one more week left of school to look forward to before a well earned break for Easter. We will however be looking forward to welcoming everyone back to school in April for the summer term.

Beginning with a couple of success stories. The combined year 8 and 9 team played against Joseph Rowntree school. They played really well together, following with a well deserved win! A special shout out to Scarlett who scored twice. Congratulations girls! Unfortunately the Y9 boys vs Fulford could not replicate this success, and despite numerous goal line clearances they lost 0-1.

There was also individual success to be celebrated. As a proud form tutor Mr Norris has been singing the praises of Josie Shutt. At the weekend Josie competed in a gymnastics competition and she won 2 medals in the four disciplines that she competed in. Well done Josie.

Our act of collective worship this week focussed on the idea of looking out for people in the community during lent. Students looked at the parable of the good samaritan and how this can teach them to be a good neighbour to all people in their community.

Students also voted about the future of AI and if it is a good thing about its rapid development. As this technology is becoming more common in everyone’s lives, they looked at the history of computers and the internet, the difference between weak and strong AI and how this could lead into a future of AI replacing people in the workplace.

We would also like to congratulate all our Year 9’s who have been involved in this year’s school show. From those on stage and in the backstage crew it has been an unbelievable effort with weeks and weeks of practice to put on an unforgettable performance of Fame.

As always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Year team.

A message from the Year 8 pastoral team

It is a great pleasure to be reaching the end of our second term in Year 8. The Spring term always feels very long as we come through the final Winter months and dig deeper into our subjects. The very vast majority of our Year 8 students have conducted themselves in an exemplary manner throughout the term and we couldn’t be prouder of their ongoing achievements.

A huge shout out to our Year 8s who have been involved in the school show. This has been a large number of individuals in Year 8 (names and further details to be published in the school Newsletter), and they have done an exceptional job. The Year 8 team (along with many other school staff) have been blown away by the quality of the performances we have been to see this week. Both staff and students involved in the show make an enormous commitment to this; there have been hours of rehearsals – including over weekends – and students commit to very late nights when the show is running. The showcase of talent here is very impressive, and we can already see some Year 8s who are sure to be leading this in years to come!

Another shout out to all of our students who have committed to extra-curricular activities this term. We are hard-pressed to find an individual in our year group who doesn’t have a hidden talent or skill, and there are dozens if not hundreds of Year 8s who commit huge amounts of time to sports, hobbies and skills both in and outside school. It is these talents that set them apart as individuals and see them grow and excel as they mature, so a huge well done to every student who is working so hard outside of the classroom as well as in lessons.

This week, our Act of Collective Worship will be a Form-led session which will be conducted by 8RGI. The quality of our Form tutor led assemblies thus far has been excellent and is an important way of students living out our Christian values. So far, we have had a Form-led assembly themed around Halloween, one around Christmas traditions, and one around Food from around the World – we are looking forward to seeing what RGI have in store!

We have, unfortunately, continued to see some poor lunch behaviour from a minority of students in our year group which is impacting on others who do not wish to be involved. It is important that students remain in their social spaces. The Year 8 social area covers a vast region at the front of school encompassing the front field, front bench area, benches on the grass outside reception, Y7/8 library, the resource centre, hall, courtyard cafe – plus the use of lunchtime clubs. These areas are all well-staffed and supervised. Students must not wander outside of these areas which are either reserved for other year groups or are not in use and therefore not supervised.

There is a budding trend among a minority to squirt one another with water at break and lunch. We are dealing with this very firmly as it has led to upsets and altercations on a couple of instances this week as students who do not wish to be splashed with water retaliate. We would very much appreciate you supporting our policy against water fights at home, and preventing your child from bringing in anything that can hold water except for a water bottle, which we will police the sensible use of.

As we enter the final week, our message to students will be one of praise and celebration for how far they have come. We have built up strong relations of trust with individuals in the year group and have an excellent foundation leading into the final term and beyond. We hope the week ahead will feel calm and positive and that every student and their family has a wonderful Easter break when it arrives.

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 is hard to believe we have reached our final week of the term. The year group has been brilliant this week. We have enjoyed some warmer weather and sunshine during our social times making the daily cricket and football matches much more enjoyable for all!

The Year 7 Team loved watching the school show, well done to all of our Year 7’s who participated. You were all amazing and we are so proud of you. It is wonderful to see students truly embracing all opportunities offered to them and living out John 10:10. Thank you to all families who came to watch and supported the show.

We saw the end of Bikeability this week, students represented the school brilliantly and we had wonderful feedback from our instructors. If your child did not participate and you would like them to please email hpowell@ahs.pmat.academy.

A special mention should be given this to the Year 7 girls football team who played 2 fixtures. On Tuesday they took on Joseph Rowntree and won with a score of 4-0. On Thursday they played All Saints and beat them a huge 6-0! Well done to everyone who has played and represented the school. Our netball team also visited Joseph Rowntree School on a Saturday and played a tournament, well done for great efforts especially on a cold Saturday morning!

We hope you all have a wonderful Easter break. A reminder that students do not need to complete homework over the holidays and can enjoy a well earned break. We look forward to seeing them all on the 17th April.

Well Done to our Students of the Week:
7ASU – George Payne – for being a very good and strict presenter of the News, well done!
7CMM – Kester Ravilious – massively deserves this given his contributions as our Green Ambassador over the course of this year.
7PI – Dougie Molyneux – for being consistently polite and hardworking all across school. Well done!
7HV – Gusts Steinburgs – for being helpful during registration and settling quickly and quietly, well done!
7MPE – Jo Sola Farrus & Erin Holton – For putting so much effort and time into being part of the school show. A massive well done to you!!
7CST – George French – For being a great member of form, who always makes people laugh. Well done George!
7MLN – Maisey Archer – For always being compassionate, polite and hard-working.
7JHE – Lucy Stimson – for always being polite and helpful to her friends
7BL – Elliott Lee-Chapell – for trying really hard in lessons and form time to improve on his behaviour. Well done. Keep it up!
7ZBL – Brodie Barrow – For attending lots of extracurricular clubs!
7CY – Poppy Jack – For creating a lovely thank you card for the bikeability teachers

Well Done to our Head of Year Awards:
Masal Altun 7CST – for living our school values every day and working hard. Well done!
Ted McKellar 7JHE – for amazing work in the school show, you were amazing. Well Done!

Word of the week

The word of the week for week commencing 27 March is:

Resurrect

To revive or revitalize something that is inactive, disused or forgotten

The deal collapsed and has yet to be resurrected.

Collective Worship

Theme
During the weeks before Easter we will explore how we can Look IN and Look OUT this Lent. This week our Form Tutor Collective Worship focusses on both the UK and the World.

Quotes
Monday: “Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.” – Peter Marshall, 20th C. Scottish-American preacher

Tuesday: “The measure of a men’s greatness is not the number of servants he has, but the number of people he serves.” – John Hagee, American pastor

Wednesday: “We cannot do great things on this earth, only small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa, Catholic nun and missionary

Thursday: “You can always give without loving, but you can never love without giving.” – Amy Carmichael, Irish Christian missionary in India

Friday: “Length of life should be measured not by the number of years but by the number of right actions.” – Desiderius Erasmus, 15th C. Dutch philosopher and Catholic theologian