Whole School Newsletter - 21-12-2023

Thursday 21^st December 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

RISE

Our weekly RISE focus this week has been on commitment and celebrations. We have also taken students through the changes to student entrances and exits that are starting on the first Monday back after Christmas.

To remind everyone of these changes, from Monday 8^th January 2024, we will be changing the entrance and exits for students in years 7 to 11.  From this date, all students in Key Stage 3 and 4 will need to come into school, at 8.35am, through the doorways behind the main hall (labelled as entrance 1) and not, as they currently do, through the glass visitor entrance. This new KS3 and KS4 entrance will remain open to all students until just before 9am when the student entrance will shut. Any student who arrives later than this will need to go to the visitor’s entrance to be signed in. I would like to remind all parents and carers that students should be in school ready for Form which starts at 8.45am. Form Time is an essential part of the school day as this is when important messages are shared and when we run interventions and wellbeing support.

At the end of the day all exits, except the glass visitor entrance, will be open for students to leave the building. There will be 4 exits - the doors in blue, the doors by the main stairs, the doors behind the hall (the new student entrance) and the doors in purple by the canteen.

There will be no change at the end of the day for the Year 7 and Year 8 Nurture classes (who finish school at a slightly different time) who will still leave via the main visitor entrance.

Sixth Form Students

As all students in our Sixth Form sign in and out of school, they will need to continue to use the main visitor entrance to access the electronic sign in.

Support for families in need

Tiny Rebel are offering support with food on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day for any families in need. Please contact them directly for more information.

Planned towpath closure

We have been asked by the Local Authority to share the following information about planned closures to the canal towpath in January which may affect your journey to school.

From the 7th January 2024 there will be canal towpath closures on and off for approximately 4 months whilst essential vegetation clearance works take place in the canal channel. Cut vegetation will be removed from the channel and left bankside until a later date. Whilst this will look unkept it is part of the process and is necessary to ensure that any invertebrates have the opportunity to return into the water.   

The works will affect the towpath from the bottom of 14 locks near Brickyard Lane to Barrack Hill and from the M4 underpass to the Torfaen boundary. Whilst we hope that large sections of the canal will remain open there will on occasion be parts of the towpath that will be closed for safety reasons. Diversions will be in place but regular users may need to take alternatives routes to their destinations. This may also affect parents and children travelling to and from school.

Works will be carried as quickly as conditions allow and we thank residents and visitors of the Allt Yr Yn, Shaftesbury, Bettws and Malpas wards for their patience whilst the work is carried out.

We break up today for the Christmas holidays and return to school for the start of the Spring Term on Monday 8^th January 2024.

The remaining INSETS for the rest of this academic year are as follows;

1. Friday 22^nd December 2023
2. Friday 8^th March 2024
3. Friday 28^th June 2024
4. Monday 1^st July 2024

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our families for your continued support and wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas break.

With kind regards

Mrs Lee