Good afternoon,
I hope that you all had a restful Easter break and were able to decide whether you were team Cuthbert or Colin. The sunny weather has made for an uplifting start to the summer term; the students have returned refreshed and the easing of lockdown restrictions has put a spring in our step.
The first week back after a holiday can be hard if we have been used to going to bed a bit later and as a result getting up later than we usually would. I am sure there are many of us who dread having to wake the reluctant teenager for school. You may have found that sleep patterns in your family also changed during the lockdown. I listened to an interesting podcast recently about the impact of lockdowns on sleep. It talked about how many of us reverted to our own biological clocks during the lockdowns, no longer required to be bound to a social clock. This is something that I have been interested in for a long time; trying to ascertain the optimum time to start the school day to engage teenagers, who are perhaps unfairly renowned for being tired in the mornings. The issue is, however, far more complex than just thinking about age. There are four types of personal biological body clocks, known as chronotypes and these control our body’s rhythms. The four types are a lion, dolphin, bear or wolf. There are quizzes on line where you can find out what your chronotype is (search ‘what is your chronotype’). You may find it useful to help improve your sleep or better understand your child’s sleep patterns. Alternatively, you could simply use it to convince your boss that you need to start work later in the day, not because you’re lazy but because you’re a wolf.
We have seen this week how ‘fan power’ can be a force for good. I would like to think our own ‘community power’ contributed to the decision to remove the bollards on Lodge Road. It has been far safer to have the school buses drop off and pick up on the school site rather than on Lodge Road. I plan to meet with the Head of Strategic Transport and Parking from Cheshire East to discuss ways in which we can make all access points around the school safer for our students.
With lockdown restrictions slowly being lifted we have started to reintroduce activities after school and we have a programme in place for our inter college competitions. Please access our social media sites to see what we have on offer and do encourage your child to take part. I know that many of our students have been making the most of the gyms and leisure centres re opening and it would be good to see them getting back into school activities, too.
Alsager staff are continuing to run/walk around the world. We are currently at the base camp of Mount Everest. A reminder that parents/carers can contribute kilometres and we have added swimming into the mix now as well.
Thank you as always for your continued support. I hope that you all have a lovely weekend, whatever your plans are.
“I want to be like a caterpillar. Eat a lot. Sleep for a while. Wake up beautiful.” (unknown)
