Dear Parents/Carers
‘Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May’ – William Shakespeare
He was a wise man Shakespeare! We’ve certainly had some rough times of late and it is likely that the rough times will continue for some time yet. The wisdom I draw from Shakepeare’s words is that the winds may shake the tree but the tree still stands. And so will we.
Thank you to those parents/carers who have filled in the online survey How can we help survey? (link here) If you have not done so yet, please do so before 12pm Sunday 3rd May. We will do what we can to help you.
So far, the survey is showing that the majority of parents /carers feel the quantity and quality of the learning being set is suitable for their children. I feel that the new timetable has helped with this. There are some who feel it is still too much, now too little, too hard or too easy. We will now begin to tweak work for individuals in response to this information. Thank you.
You will know that we are asking our children to send an email to their form tutor every day to check in with us. This is so that our children don’t feel like they have lost touch with school and we are not just interested in what work they are doing. We are interested and concerned about them as people. The vast majority are doing this without prompting and have really taken control of managing their time and workload. I am very proud of them for that and I thank you for supporting your child with their learning at this time.
There has also been a lot of confusion and delay regarding FSM vouchers. Our Business Manager, Mr Wil Brooks, is very busy tracking down vouchers that have not been received. The information you have provided on the survey is really useful for this. Again, thank you.
You will also know that there has been much publicity surrounding government funded laptops for school children to help them learn at home. I want to clarify some details around this. At this moment, the laptops are only available for pupils who do not have a device and/or internet access AND are:
or
There may well be more laptops provided in the future but we do not know if or when that will happen. The laptops for the children above have not been received yet and we do not know when they will arrive. It is also clear that the laptops must be returned to the school when the lockdown period comes to an end.
Year 11
I want to reassure Year 11 pupils and parents/carers that the school is well underway gathering all of our information together to be able to submit our data to the exam boards in early June. I must remind you though: we are NOT allowed to tell the pupils or parents/carers the grades or rank order we submit. The exam boards will use our information to award grades and will release the information at a later, as yet unknown, date.
At this point, your child may find it useful to begin to look to their next steps in terms of learning from home. On the 15th May, we will not be setting work for year 11 to complete at home. However, we will be sending out information about where your child can access information and key learning in relation to the next phase in their learning. Colleges and 6th forms have been collating this work for their incoming students; many already have this listed on their websites or have communicated with you directly. However, to help you with this, we are collating all of this information for you into one pack where you and your child can select the subjects and learning opportunities best suited to them.
I want to reiterate my promise that the Year group will have an opportunity for a celebration to mark the end of their time with us. Obviously, we must wait for it to be safe to do so. Please note, I said that the celebration will mark the end of their time with us, not the end of their time as a Stretfordian. Once a Stretfordian, always a Stretfordian.
Year 10
I have been monitoring the setting of home-learning and how well pupils are responding. Next week, I shall be doing a deeper look into Year 10 and I look forward to seeing examples of how our senior students are learning at home. For those of you who have applied for prefect roles, I wish you good luck in the next stage of the process.
Year 9
The following week, I will be doing a deep dive into Year 9 learning from home and I am particularly interested in how our Year 9 pupils are enjoying their learning in their option subjects.
Year 7 & Year 8
During the week beginning 18th May, I will be looking at Year 7 & 8 learning and I am particularly interested in how creative they’ve been in their learning.
I would like to remind parents that the National Oak Academy have a range of online lessons for pupils to access at home should pupils feel the need to supplement their learning or try another subject! The National Oak Academy link here
Helping hands
You may know that the Headteacher of Lostock High School, Lee Fazackerly, celebrated his last day at LHS yesterday, 30.04.20. From today, 1.05.20, Lindsay Brindley will be the Headteacher of Lostock High school and I will be acting as the Executive headteacher until August 2021. Stretford High school will be working with the school, sharing good practice and working together to provide the best possible education for our community. I want to reassure you, our SHS family, that I am absolutely still Headteacher of SHS and will continue to love and work for you and your children just as hard as I have ever done!
I am thinking of you all at this time and hope you are all well and staying safe. As always, email me with concerns or queries [email protected]
Take care and stay safe.
Nic
#Stay in, Stay safe
# WASH YOUR HANDS!