Dear Parent/Carer

I am sure that depending on who you talk to, you will be told that this term has either flown by or dragged on for ages. It is great to hear more and more stories of people who are getting the vaccine, which means we are getting closer to returning to 'normal'. Rest assured, there is much planning going on to look at how the school will run when we return and of course, safety is at the heart of this.

It seems we will hear more about a possible return to school in an update on 22nd February, so I promise to let you know how that affects us as soon as I know. The irony will be that if you watch the press conference on the television, you will probably get the message at the same time as me!

We have more and more students in school now and because of this, we need to make a slight change to our provision for them. Staff are now coming in to supervise the students on days when they have the least amount of taught lessons (currently they come in and teach the live lessons whilst trying to supervise). This will mean they can provide more direct support to the students in school and you may notice that on the day a member of staff is in school, their teacher-led lesson (for that lesson only) will be a little less teacher-led. They will still be online to answer questions as normal, so please do not worry about any drop in the quality of our offer.

Over half term, I would like to point all students in the direction of reading. I was a reluctant reader at school and I wish I had the support of staff like ours as well as a system like Accelerated Reader (AR). Our students have a massive choice of books (both in school and online) and Y7 and 8 need to keep doing the quizzes for AR as this does give House points, which I know the Heads of Houses are very excited about. Further up the school, please still encourage your daughter/son to read for at least 30 minutes per day. Reading is a great way to relax and to learn new things. I know it certainly helps me to unwind.

A date for your diary is our Y10 Parent/Carer Evening on Thursday 25th February. It was the Y12 evening last night and the system worked superbly. I must thank the staff for the quality of their feedback last night and for the helpful, aspirational support they gave. 

Obviously, next week would have seen us visiting family and friends and even getting away for a short break. That will have to wait and we will be taking comfort in other things. For me, it will be a chance to put some records on and take over the soundtrack to the house. This is a tough time and it is OK to be upset at what seems like little things. It is OK to feel upset at the world and yes, we can all have a good shout about things. When this happens, no matter how hard things are, we know that we always come back to those who are closest to us, even if they are miles away.

As you know, I love a good song lyric and those who know me are always told that if I wasn't a Headteacher, I wanted to be a rock star! I actually still think that Pearl Jam will call me up one day to fill in on bass. So, with that in mind, I will leave you with this amazing line from one of my favourite songs:

'I'm a lucky man to count on both hands the ones I love'

A simple thought, a powerful meaning.

Stay safe and I look forward to seeing you all soon.
Steve Brady