I hope that you all had a refreshing break over Easter and if you were lucky enough to go away, I hope you didn’t get tied up at Manchester airport. Our students have made a positive return to the summer term, and we have a lot of exciting things to look forward to. We are planning our first sports day in three years and we have a variety of activities planned for SPIRIT week which will be shared over the coming weeks with everyone.
Our two new Heads of College started this week. A big welcome to Mr Woods, Head of Dod College, and to Miss Monaghan, Head of Royce College. We have been short staffed in our pastoral team this year, so it is great to have a full complement of staff.
In order to improve communication between our parents and the elected parent governors, we have set up an area on our website where parents/carers can offer suggestions on how to support school improvement. It will provide a way for parents to engage positively with the school through the elected parent governors. The link can be found on our website under Contacts. Governors will raise any recurring themes with the school and share suggestions.
I have recently asked our staff to share key words and statements that they believe describe our school in order to review what Alsager School stands for and what our vision is. Next week I will be sending out a similar request to all of our students, parents and carers. We will be asking for ten words or statements about what it means to be part of Alsager School, key elements of our culture and our expectations. As you can imagine, kindness and respect appeared a lot amongst staff, but I particularly liked the word ‘pioneering’.
Our sixth form leadership team shared the first edition of the school magazine, ‘Our Voice’, before Easter. If your child is a budding journalist, encourage them to get involved with the magazine. Also, if your child has excelled in an activity/club/sport outside of school, please do share their achievements with me.
Over the coming weeks all of our students will be developing debating skills as they embark on a ‘debating’ programme during form time which has been put together by Mr Dunne, one of our maths teachers who has a wealth of experience in this field. It is a wonderful opportunity to learn the skills of persuasion and how to use research effectively. I thought you would all appreciate advanced notice to hone your own skills for when you are engaging in some tricky debates with teenagers!
Y11 and Y13 students are now in the middle of key revision in preparation for the start of the exam season. Attendance in lessons at this stage is critical but staff will also be offering sessions after school. Please encourage your child to make the most of any additional opportunities. If you feel that your child is struggling to manage their revision, please contact us as we have staff who can provide bespoke workshops and support. Miss Jardine leads on this area. She can be contacted via email. Her email address is: l.jardine@alsagerschool.org
We sent out a reminder about uniform standards this week. Visitors to the school always comment positively on the uniform. Thank you for your support in helping us to maintain our high standards.
Weather for the weekend looks mixed. It is the last home game of the season to look forward to tomorrow at Gresty Road and I am sure there are some of you keeping fingers crossed still for promotion. Whatever your plans, have a lovely weekend and as always, thank you for your continued support.
“I didn’t do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can’t prove anything.” (Bart Simpson)
