Dear Parent/Carer,

Here is the Principal's assembly, please see below if you simply wish to read the information or access the links.

Attendance

Our current whole school attendance is 95.08%

This is great because we know that nationally schools everywhere are struggling to keep attendance above 90%, so for that I thank you.  However, we want more for our school and we know that 90% means 1 day off a fortnight.  Parents, it is your responsibility to get your son/daughter into school.  Please keep up the good work so we can do the teaching and learning.

Congratulations to Year 7 and congratulations to Tutor Group 7GCA at 97.84% who have had the best attendance this week.

 

Hot Chocolate Friday

I had my first socially distancing Hot Chocolate Friday last week.  Firstly, with the winners of the Year 7 bubble and then with the winners of the Year 8 and 9 bubble.  It was such a pleasure and I will be looking forward to every Friday from now on. 

 

This Weeks Assembly

We had a lovely virtual assembly this week from Mr Burchett, following this week’s theme of honesty, we hope this stimulates conversation in tutor time on this subject.  We would be delighted if you could take the opportunity to explore this subject further in your family conversations. 

 

Year 11

I know you have been informed of your imminent mocks. We need to get the balance right on how we approach this. Yes, they are important and yes you must prepare as best you can. But we know you feel that you are behind so we are using these exams to assess where you are and work out how we can support you with gaps in your learning. Your teachers are correct to tell you to take them seriously as they may impact on your results next summer, but they will only be part of the picture and please don’t let them stress you too much. We know there are gaps and we will work with you to fill them. Do your best that is all we ask of you.

 

Autumn

There has been the inevitable change in the weather but we are still able to use large indoor spaces to maintain bubbles when it is raining.  Please make sure your son/daughter has a suitable school coat and remember that hoodies are not acceptable in school. 

 

Dining Room

Can you remind your son/daughter to sanitise their hands as they enter the dining rooms

 

We have heard from Chartwell’s who are very happy with the way we manage our dining rooms with regards to COVID.  We are leading the way in comparison to other schools

 

Breakfast Orders

Students in years 8 and 9 and 10 and 11 are now able to pre-order their breakfast via an email to the catering staff. Simply email ringmer.breakfast@kingsacademies.uk with your order and the order will be delivered to your "bubble" to collect in the morning.

The dining room is open to year 7 students as they arrive in the morning 

 

ParentPay

All students should pay for their lunch via ParentPay.  If you need a letter with the username and password to set up your account, please contact the school and we will print this off. We also use ParentPay for all visits, revision guides etc

Cash will no longer be accepted in the dining room for payment. If a parent does not have a ParentPay account we can get a Paypoint card from Chartwells and they can load cash onto the card at a local store that accepts Paypoint. The first card is free of charge there will be charges for a replacement card should this card be lost.  Alternatively, they can send a cheque in an envelope with the students name on and this will be added to their child’s account

 

Mobile Phones

Our students have been used to having their mobile phones to hand through-out lock down. Now we are back in school we are reminding students that phones need to be switched off and out of sight between 8.45 and 3.15pm. please can you support us by not taxing or phoning your son and daughter during these hours and using reception to make contact. If they are in school and you are worried about them, we can get to them much quicker than you can.

 

Raising E Scooter Awareness

With the increase in the use of E-Scooters,

Sussex Police say: “Under current UK legislation, electric scooters cannot be used on the road or pavement; they can only be used on private land with the landowner’s permission.

“Anyone with any concerns about antisocial driving or riding can report it via Operation Crackdown at www.operationcrackdown.co.uk”

They say, anyone caught riding one faces being prosecuted:

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said the police would deal with any incidents if they deemed it necessary.

He said: “Offences involving moving traffic are a matter for the police. So issues around enforcing against illegal use of these vehicles would be a matter for them.”

 

Safeguarding Focus

After 6 months of being at home, we are sure that your son/daughter maybe experiencing the first throws of tiredness.  Could we ask you to encourage them to go to bed a sensible hour and limit their use of bedtime technology.  We thank you for your support with this. 

 

Have a great weekend

Sian Williams

Principal