Dear Parents/Carers

I hope this letter finds you well. As we have now approached 1st December, Christmas is definitely looming. Our tree has been up for almost two weeks now and this has divided opinion, understandably! You may have seen on our social media channels that there’s also a Sixth Form ‘elf on the shelf’ too. Some things, it seems, have no upper age limit!

Attendance

We have two weeks left of this term. In assemblies this week, I have relayed to all students the importance of them being in school, every day. Being in front of expert teachers ensures they are learning and making progress. I know it is colder and illnesses emerge but we ask that high attendance remains at the forefront of all of our minds. Our collective approach - the positive messaging from home and from school - makes a big difference.

Visits

In assemblies, I also shared with all students how well they have been doing, and this must continue. Walking around our school each day and seeing students engaging in learning is endearing. I have walked around with some visitors in the last few weeks and they have been impressed too. One visitor emailed me the following: “Your students were polite and respectful. Lessons felt calm, with a very positive learning environment”. This is typical for our school. As I have relayed before, if any of you want to pop in to see our ‘school in action’, please drop mainreception@brakenhale.co.uk an email and this can be arranged.

Events and extra-curricular opportunities

Each week when I look at the school diary, it is great to see the range of events, trips and opportunities that are about to take place. These are either in school or happening elsewhere but they continue to enrich our students’ personal development. Only yesterday, Sixth Form Psychology students were part of an online conference arranged by Ms Joyce. On Wednesday, a small group of students went to the Houses of Parliament in London, with Mr Bissitt, as part of the ‘Premier Leagues Inspires’ project. On Tuesday, too, Ms Loj had taken Sixth Form Criminology students into London for a conference. This is just three examples from the last few days; there are many more. The end of term Newsletter will showcase all of these. Thanks to staff who arrange and organise this for our students.

Drop Down Day

Further to the above, our pursuit to ensure students are ready for the wider world, we had ‘Drop Down Day’ last Friday. With a theme of ‘Health and Well-being’, students across year groups had a range of sessions which included ‘The Science of Stress’, ‘Emotional Wellbeing’, ‘Rail and Road Safety’ and more. Some of these were led by external speakers and organisations. There was also a sponsored skip which students in Years 7-10 participated in. The Sports Hall was a hive of activity and it was great to see students (and some staff!) skipping away. This was in aid of charity. Thank you to all of you who have contributed. Whatever the amount of the donation, we have raised in excess of £400 for the British Heart Foundation to date. Thank you for this.

Christmas Jumper day and Christmas Lunch

On Wednesday 6th December, Christmas lunch will be served. Many of you have ordered this further to communication that has been sent home previously. Students in Year 7, 8 and in the Sixth Form will be coming down earlier so that we can stagger the servings and ensure everyone gets through. Please note, we will ensure no one who has ordered a Christmas lunch goes without and they will have enough time to eat it. We know, from experience, this lunch day takes much longer so we have factored this into our planning.

Wednesday is also Christmas Jumper Day. As a reminder, Christmas jumpers must be appropriate for school and can replace school jumpers, blazers and ties on this day. All other uniform items must remain as usual. If students choose not to wear a Christmas jumper, then they will need to be in full school uniform.

Art Competition

Our academy trust, Greenshaw Learning Trust (GLT), is running an inter-school Art competition. This is in addition to the Christmas card competition we have been running in school. Please refer to communication that has already been shared and encourage your child(ren) to participate. The deadline is Friday 8th December and entries go to Mrs Lister. The overall winning entry will win a £50 gift voucher along with £250 for our school’s Student Council.

The internal Christmas card competition has now closed and I now have a range of amazing entries. Three winners will be selected very soon and their designs made into cards. Winners will be given gift vouchers: £20 for the overall winner and two £10 vouchers for the runners-up. Thank you to all students who have entered. We had students in Year 7 right to Year 13 participating. The winning designs will be shared soon!

Road Safety

I have received communication from the local authority Parking Services Officer. This has gone to all schools. They have requested us all to remind parents/carers to park legally and safely during school drop-off and pick-up times. There have been incidents of near misses reported to the team because of dangerous driving and parking.

In terms of our school, please abide by the parking restrictions in the area and of the importance of driving and parking safely. The Enforcement Officers do visit the school from time to time but it is important that we can work together to ensure safer driving and parking is at the forefront of our minds, every day.

Uniform

You may recall that we communicated updates to the uniform in the summer term of the last academic year. We specified the five branded items and reminded everyone of our uniform policy. We had stated that the branded jumper will be phased out in Easter 2024. Having listened to views and feedback, we have an update on this. There will be separate communication on this in the next few days.

Rewards

In the final week of term, we have the ‘Fun Factory’ reward events which we launched in the summer term. Students have been reminded of these throughout this term. The leaderboard is updated weekly. Next Friday is the cut-off point to determine which students, in each year group, will be on the respective rewards. It’ll be a fun-packed week, along with the end of term rewards assemblies. I look forward to all students being in school embracing these opportunities that we have on offer!

Kind regards

Mr B Tailor, Headteacher