I hope that you have all had a restful weekend. There was a lot happening this weekend: Harry Kane scored a hat-trick for England, Owain’s drumathon for Children in Need was very impressive, Cop 26 concluded, and Britney was freed. Many of our students took part on Sunday in Remembrance Day with Scouting movements and Cadets. On Thursday 11th November, the school fell silent for two minutes to remember all service men and women who have lost their lives in conflict. We all gathered outside around the mound where Hannah, one of our Y12 students, played The Last Post so movingly. All of our students were really respectful, and it reminded me of a visit I made a few years ago to The Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium. The Last Post Ceremony has been held there at 8pm every evening since 1928, honouring the 89,880 British and Commonwealth soldiers who were lost with no known grave. It is such a dignified event and I would certainly recommend it.
This time of year is always exciting with the release of Christmas adverts; I think that Ebanana Scrooge may be the winner this year with a cameo by Marcus ‘Radishford’ and poor old Cuthbert the Caterpillar being arrested by two sour lemons. I am also looking forward to the first Christmas lights around Alsager. Last year was quite spectacular and if the Halloween decorations are anything to go by, I am sure we will be in for a real treat.
In school, Y11 are continuing with their mocks. Behaviour has been exemplary, as usual. OfQual (the body which regulates qualifications) has released information regarding the exam process for next year and this will be shared this week with all students due to take exams next summer. Exams are expected to take place as normal with some changes to what is examined; this will all be shared by the exam boards by February 2022 at the latest. The exam timetable for the exams has been released and this has been sent out by our exams officer, Mrs Hartas.
Mrs Snape has shared information regarding Anti-Bullying week, which starts today. There will be many events taking place this week and on Wednesday we will be having an ‘odd sock day’ to raise awareness of Anti-Bullying week. Please feel free to join in. A reminder that we have a system in place where any incidents can be reported anonymously. Our Sharps system can be accessed on our website.
The number of positive Covid cases has gone down significantly this half term. Please do continue with twice weekly testing. The nursing team has made great progress with the vaccination programme for 12-15-year olds across Cheshire East and has amended its schedule slightly as a result. Our vaccinations are now due to take place on one day only, which is Friday 19th November. Vaccinations can only be given with prior consent. If you have not completed the consent form and wish for your child to receive the vaccine on Friday 19th November, the consent form must be completed by Tuesday 16th November.
An increasing number of our students are cycling to school which is great. If your child cycles to school, please ensure that they have a helmet and now that it has started to get dark early that they have functioning lights and wear clothing which makes them easily visible to drivers.
You may recall in February I told you about the Alsager staff challenge to race around the world. We have collectively completed 36,918km and have 3,157km left. Mr Hodgkinson, the man behind the challenge and Alsager’s very own Mr Motivator, anticipates that we will finish by the end of this month and has planned an all staff mile long fun run to cross the line together. I will keep you informed- there may be some of you who would like to join us, too.
Please do continue to share your child’s ‘out of school’ achievements. It is always a pleasure to find out about what they do outside of the classroom and have a chat about it.
As always, thank you for your continued support. Have a great week.
“Never doubt yourself. Never change who you are. Don’t care what people think and just go for it.” (Britney Spears)
