Headteachers Letter – 5th November 2021
Dear Parents and Carers,
It has been a busy and rewarding first week back after the half term break, and we are looking forward to a term filled with purpose and positivity in the lead up to the Christmas break.
Coronavirus Update
We have continued to monitor cases and are pleased to note that the number of active cases has fallen dramatically since the peak of mid- October. Government guidance is that any additional measures in school should only be deployed for the shortest amount of time possible. After consulting with Pubic Health, from Monday 8th November 2021, we are now able to return to:
- In person assemblies and large communal events.
- In person large staff meetings and briefings.
- No recommendation to wear face coverings in corridors and communal areas (although any member of the school community may continue to choose to wear a face covering in any and all circumstances).
- The use of changing rooms for PE.
On the final point, please ensure that your child arrives in school in full Wollaston School uniform. On the days when they have PE, kit should be brought into school in a bag, ready to be changed into at the start of the lesson.
Thank you in advance for your support and a reminder that the following measures will remain in place:
- Adequate ventilation in all areas (including Co2 monitoring).
- Regular home testing for staff and students on Wednesday and Sunday evenings (with the important caveat that no tests should be taken within 90 days of a positive PCR test.)
- Encouraging good hand hygiene and use of hand sanitiser stations.
- All members of the school community remain welcome to wear face coverings in any and all circumstances, if they choose to do so.
Coronavirus Vaccine Programme
Thank you to parents, students and staff for ensuring that the school based delivery of coronavirus vaccines, for those who had parental consent, worked so effectively. There is a follow up letter which can be viewed HERE from the NHS explaining how vaccines can be booked for those who were not eligible for this round of vaccinations, or for those who missed this because of a previous positive test result.
Sixth Form Open Evening
We enjoyed probably our most popular ever Post 16 open event on Thursday evening, and it is indeed an exciting time to be considering opportunities in our successful Sixth Form. Demand for places meant that we ran two formal presentations and parents and students had the opportunity to speak with subject staff and academic leaders. We offer a wide range of inspiring courses and an exceptional level of academic, leadership and personal opportunities, in addition to the amazing support and challenge of the Sixth Form team.
If you were not able to make the evening, or would like further information on our Sixth Form Provision, please contact a member of the Sixth Form team;
Head of 6th Form – Tony Mills MillsT@wollaston-school.net
6th form Centre Manager – Jo Melia MeliaJ@wollaston-school.net
Parents Evenings
Our Year 10 Parents evening will take place on Thursday 12th November 2021 and will again be a virtual event using Zoom. We are looking forward to discussing with parents the excellent start which our Year 10 students have made to their courses, and providing advice for how students can work even more effectively as we move towards formal assessment points at the end of this term.
We will also be introducing a new electronic booking system for parents evenings, which will be formally launched in January . This will use the Edubase platform, and we will once again bid farewell to the nostalgic paper based system which we had to re-introduce following the cyber attack in the summer term.
Student Achievements
Congratulations to a number of Wollaston students who have achieved wonderful results in the IDTA UK Nationwide Finals for Freestyle and Rock and Roll, in Blackpool.
Paige and Tammie-Jo 1st place in a group Dance
Hope 4th place in Aged 10-12 years fast dance
Laura 1st place in in slow dance
Madison 2nd place in age 13-15 years Fast Dance
Ellagrace and Poppy 3rd place in ages 10-12 years Paired Dance
Congratulations to all of our students who competed in Blackpool and well done on some fabulous results!
Career Opportunities
Wollaston School and the Nene Valley Partnership are proud to be a significant local employer and we currently have a number of opportunities for new staff to join our excellent team.
Specific jobs and opportunities can be found HERE and the roles available include both teaching and non- teaching positions. At Wollaston School, we have a new role available for a Learning Support Centre Manager, which will be central to our continuing mission to ensure that all students with additional needs achieve the very best educational outcomes possible.
Forthcoming Events
Please see below some important November dates for your diary,
Thursday 11th November – Year 10 Parents Evening – will be held virtually
Thursday 18th November – Success at GCSE Evening
Thursday 25th November – Year 11 Celebration Event
Friday 26th November – Teacher training day – school closed to students
Monday 29th November – Teacher training day – school closed to students
Children in Need 2021
This is an early announcement that week beginning Monday 15 November we will be supporting Children in Need.
We will be running fundraising events throughout the week and on Friday 19 November we will hold a non-uniform day.
The theme is ‘Together we Can’. We would like to see how many students we can get wearing yellow, so we ask that students all wear something yellow. The more extraordinary the outfit the better as we are holding a house fancy dress competition on the same day.
We politely request donations from all students on arrival should they wish to wear alternative clothing for that day.
As always, thank you for your continued support. Please do get in touch if there is any aspect of our provision which you would like to discuss.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mr James Birkett
Headteacher