HIGHLIGHTS

Throughout this week we have had parents touring the school as part of our Open Morning programme for potential new students starting in September 2024.  The students who have taken the parents on tour have been wonderful, answering questions and confidently talking to the parents about their experiences in school.  I would like to thank them all. 

We had over one hundred students attend the Duke of Edinburgh Awards information evening this week.  It is wonderful to see so many students interested in the award and learning about what they will have to do to gain the award.   

KICK IT OUT

We will be holding a mufti day on 20 October for the anti-racism charity Kick it Out.  Students will be encouraged to wear red for day and follow our mufti day dress guidelines. 

MOBILE PHONES

In a week when the government is urging schools not to ‘ban’ mobile phones from the school day, we would like to remind you of our policy that we feel is proportionate and fair.  Students should not have their mobile phones on their person during the school day.  This means they should NOT be in POCKETS and must be in bags.  If they are seen they will be asked to hand it over, they can then collect it at the end of the day.  If they refuse to hand it over, a sanction will be issued. 

We believe that mobile phones are a serious distraction to learning  during the school day if students have them on their person.

NEWS ROUND-UP

This week England Golf confirmed its Boys’ and Girls’ Squads for the 2023/24 season. Very many congratulations to Year 13 student Matilde who is one of the twelve players to represent England Golf for 2023/24. 

Very many congratulations to Year 7 student Kiara who came 1st in the U11 Berkshire Tennis County Closed Competition this year. Her sister Lana is in Year 8 and was runner up in the same competition for the U12 category. 

The sisters were also chosen to play in the County Cup which is a team event. They have recently started to play doubles and we look forward to hearing more about the sisters' tennis achievements.

Read our news stories this week by clicking the links below:

Black History Month

Japanese Festival

Let's Talk About Mental Health

Sports Presentation

NOTICES

DRUGS DETECTION DOGS

Next week, on Wednesday 11 October, we will be welcoming in a company that provides drugs detection dogs and handlers to tour the school site and visit classrooms. It is part of our firm stance and zero tolerance on any form of drug use within our school community. We believe that our proactive and preventative approach here is very important.

We have been asked before why we inform parents students of the visit, and the simple answer is that this is our normal process for the first visit of the year and we like new students and colleagues to feel comfortable and familiar with the process. We are likely to have further visits later in the year which are unannounced.

PRE-LOVED UNIFORM SALES

Following the success of our Pre-loved Uniform stall at the Summer Festival we are keen to provide a service for parents/carers who want to re-use great quality school uniform that their children have grown out of or no longer need.

We now have a great team of volunteers who will be helping to provide this service and will be collecting donations of uniform between 3.00pm and 3.30pm in the outdoor shelter adjacent to the Sixth Form car park on Monday 16 October.

Pre-loved Uniform sales will take place between 3.00pm and 4.00pm on Wednesday 18 October in the same place and we are asking people to ‘pay what they feel’.

We will be continuing to take in donations on the last Monday of each half term and selling the Pre-loved Uniform on the last Wednesday of each half term. Please do not bring in donations at any other time as we will not be able to accept them.

To help you plan, the dates for donating and selling uniform can be found below. As always, please only donate items that you would be happy for your own child to wear.

Thank you

SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING

This half term we are running a small number of Parent Support Sessions via Teams

Wed 11th October	Year 10 - Supporting your child with the transition to Key Stage 4
Mon 16th October	Year 11 - Supporting your child with revision
Tues 17th October	Supporting your child's wellbeing - A focus on internal and external services

For more information about each session and to register your interest, please visit the Supporting your Child's Learning section of the school website here

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS

If any student has mislaid the proof of their school photo, parents/carers can either call SBS’s support team on 01255 242200 (between 9.00am and 12.00pm) or email support@sbsdigital.co.uk with their child’s details, and the team will be more than happy to help.

WHITE BUS MULTI JOURNEY TICKETS – SIXTH FORM STUDENTS

Sixth Form students who do not travel regularly can buy Multi Journey (10 Single travel tickets) from drivers on the 23 and 26 service.  It is advised that these are purchased in the afternoon at 3pm.  Multi-journey tickets are advance payment tickets valid for 10 single journeys. The driver cancels each journey as it is used.

VACANCIES

We have a number of Associate Staff vacancies, including Teaching Assistants and Exam Invigilators.  Please see further details on The Vacancies page of our website:

CAREERS INFORMATION - OPEN DAYS

Information for parents and carers including upcoming open days for colleges can be found at the bottom of the Careers page of the school website.

CLICK IMAGES FOR FURTHER DETAILS

    

PARENT CURRICULUM/SUPPORT INFORMATION

    

 

 

 Disclaimer: Any websites or apps mentioned in the Weekly Newsletter are not endorsed by the School and are used at your own discretion.  Any views or opinions expressed within the website or app are not necessarily those of Charters School.