Headteacher’s Letter – term 2 (April 2019)

1st April 2019

Dear Friends,

I would like to thank every member of our community – pupils, staff & parents/carers – for your ongoing support and dedication. We continue with our mission to help our children to ASPIRE – Achieve Academically, enjoy Success, be Professional in attitude, grow in Integrity & Respect and recognise that hard work and Endeavour are keys to achieving our goals.

Safety Notice

I must once again share my concern regarding the traffic situation and some parents/carers parking in front of our school building at the start and end of the day during drop off and pick up times. It is not a parking zone and for good reason. Nonetheless, some parents/carers have been parking in front of the school. Worse still, some have been simply stopping mid traffic and allowing their child/children to get out of the car.

Last week, a Streford High School student was cycling to school when a car stopped in traffic and allowed 2 children to open the car door to exit. The cyclist crashed into the children, the car door and was knocked off his bike. Luckily, the cyclist was wearing a cycling helmet, as per school policy, and although all of the children involved were injured, they were not seriously hurt. This accident could have been avoided. I implore you to think of the safety and welfare of all of our children and to drop off or collect your child in a safe manner.

Charity

I continue to be astounded by our pupils’ ongoing commitment to helping those less fortunate than ourselves. We have raised the staggering sum of £2975 so far for charity as well as very generous food contributions for food banks & the homeless. The charities our pupils have chosen to support are:

St Anne’s Hospice
Cancer Research
Leukaemia Research
Syria Orphan & Emergency Appeal
Ronald Macdonald House
Save the Children
Comic Relief
National Aids trust
Children in Need
Mission Christmas
Mustard tree

Thank you to the pupils, staff and you at home – together we are making a difference.

Uniform:

As the Spring is now upon us, can I please remind all pupils & parents that pupils may remove the school jumper if too warm but the school blazer should be worn at all times. In periods of extreme heat, pupils will be notified that they can remove blazers. Hoodies are banned and should not be worn at any time.
As per usual, trainers or shoes with markings are not allowed.

Year 11 & Year 10:

Of course, we urge pupils to revise over the holiday period and to use this time to prepare for their very important exams which begin on 13th May for Year 11 and 4th June for Year 10. However, it is equally important for pupils to take time to relax and unwind as the exam period is a busy and stressful time. Getting the balance right is key and sometimes our children need their parents/carers to help them to use their time wisely. Our school website has some useful tips for parents which you may find useful. https://stretfordhigh.com/supporting-your-child-during-exam-time-young-minds/
Please note that exams will begin on 13th May and will continue to 26th June. Year 11 Pupils will be expected to attend school up until they have sat their last exam.
Please also note that there may well be exams taking place on Eid ul Fitr for your child. The exam timetable is not set by the school and we cannot move exams. I wish I could do something to accommodate this important festival for our Muslim children but I cannot.
Pupils in Year 10 will sit their GCSE English Language exams on 4th & 7th June 2019.

Should any parent have a query or concern, you are more than welcome to attend the next Head teacher’s surgery which will take place on Wednesday 8th May 3-5pm. Should you want to an appointment, please contact my PA Helen Adshead on 0161 876 1850.

School will close on Friday 5th April 2019 at 2.55pm and we look forward to welcoming pupils back on Tuesday 23rd April 2019 at 8.30am – I challenge all of our pupils to strive for 100% attendance and 100% punctuality in this last term!

Finally, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful break.

Yours sincerely,

Nicola Doward
Head teacher