I hope you have had a productive week and are ready for a long, restful weekend.
Thank you to all parents and carers who have contributed to the vision statement. There were some lovely responses: ‘a community school that offers youngsters great opportunities’; ‘innovative’; ‘excellent teaching and support staff’; ‘good pastoral care supports the non-academic aspects of child development’, ‘high performing’ and ‘respectful’. If you have not yet contributed and want to, the form will be available until Tuesday 3rdMay. We have a little more work to do on our vision statement but once completed, I will share this with you.
A big congratulations to all Y11 students who have completed the GCSE French, German and Spanish speaking exams. I imagine many had fingers crossed that they weren’t going to happen this year, but it is a fantastic achievement to get through this, especially in light of what they have gone through over the past two years. Y13 languages students have their speaking exams next week and we wish them the best of luck, too. It is a very challenging time of year for the whole family if you have a child in Y11 or Y13. It is definitely a time to bite your tongue, forgive the messy bedroom and make sure that the fridge is always fully stocked! You can make up for it when the exams finish when you can leave the list of chores that you want to be done. Students and staff are continuing to work hard in the run up to exams, but if you have any concerns about revision or lack of it, please get in touch with Miss Jardine for Y11 and Mrs Pole for Y13.
There are a number of families in Alsager who have welcomed Ukrainian refugees into their homes, highlighting our kind community. We hope also to be welcoming Ukrainian students into our school very soon. This must be such a frightening time for them so we will ensure that we provide all the support that they need. If you hear of anyone in Alsager who is hosting a Ukrainian child, please do encourage them to come and look around. We have lots of visitors to the school who are always full of praise for our students.
We have had a lot of success this term already with our football teams, to the point where Mr Morris, the team manager, has been compared to Pep Guardiola. We do have a number of students achieving successes in less high-profile sports. Alsager students always seem reluctant to showcase their accomplishments, we rely on proud parents to drop us a line. We have high achievers in off road cycling, show jumpers and a champion weightlifter to name but a few.
A gentle reminder to check whether ‘the finger’ needs topping up for the school canteen. I know as a parent that you do feel to be constantly adding funds to feed hungry teenagers. For those opting for packed lunches, a plea to check with your child that they are actually eating what has been prepared for them. Unfortunately, we do see quite a few students throwing perfectly edible food away at lunchtime. We do our best to stop them but often with limited success.
I don’t know if you have experienced this at home over the past couple of weeks, but we have had a number of huge bees on the yard who have been struggling to get off the ground. Our students have been most concerned and have very carefully placed them onto the grassy areas. If you’re an expert in this field and can shed any light on this, please do let us know.
School will reopen on Tuesday 3rd May. April has come and gone very quickly. I hope that you have some exciting plans for the long weekend.
Whatever your plans, enjoy a longer break and as always, thank you for your continued support.
“Words are like bees – some create honey and others leave a sting.” (Unknown)
