Dear Parents and Carers
Happy New Year. I hope you and your families had a restful break.
We are very excited to welcome pupils back on Tuesday. Please use the last days of the holidays to support your child's organisation: making sure that their bag is emptied of non-essential items; that their pencil case is stocked with working stationary; and that their uniform (including school shoes) is all appropriate and clean for their return on Tuesday. The school gates will open at 8:10 and pupils must be on-site by 8:25.
There have been an increasing number of anti-social and violent incidents in the local area before and after school. Please reinforce with your child that it is essential that they travel directly to and from school and, if waiting for other pupils, they do so in the school library.
Staff changes: Miss Sharma is taking a break from teaching and being a Head of Year; to have a well-deserved rest and spend some time with her family. She has been a hugely valuable member of the team here for the last 2 1/2 years and we are hugely grateful for her contributions. We will all, and especially Y9 pupils and their families, miss her. I am delighted that Mr Ahmad has been appointed to replace her as Head of Year 9.
I am also delighted that Mr Tse has been promoted to Assistant Principal with responsibility for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This will provide additional capacity as the school continues to grow and allow Ms Currie to focus on safeguarding and attendance. Congratulations also to Ms McMahon who has been appointed Head of English.
Parent meetings: Parents evening for Y10 will include an opportunity to discuss progress and assessment results with each subject teacher and will take place from 4-6pm on Thursday 16th January. This will take place virtually on School Cloud. Booking and joining instructions will follow shortly.
Academic Review Day for Y7-9 will take place during the day on Friday 17th January and will provide an opportunity to discuss your child's progress with their tutor. This will also take place virtually on School Cloud. Booking and joining instructions will follow shortly. School will be closed to all pupils on this day.
Please do make every effort to attend booked appointments as it is essential that we have an opportunity to celebrate progress and plan improvements with all parents at this stage in the year.
Please also note that the school will be closed for INSET on the final day of the half-term (Friday 14th February).
We are very much looking forward to seeing all pupils on Tuesday.
Kind regards,
Mr Neuberger
End of Term Highlights
It was a fantastic final week to term as the final Thursday was Exploration Day! Pupils got the opportunity to visit some of the biggest landmarks in London: the Natural History Museum; the British Museum; the Science Museum; Tate Modern; St Paul's Cathedral; and the National Army Museum. The Year 10s also had an incredibly enriching day focusing on their futures, where they learnt skills like basic first aid and how to write a CV.
Food bank collections came to a close at the end of term and together the school managed to donate a record 327kg worth of food! Huge shoutout goes to all the students and staff who helped donate, sort, and package the food, it will make a huge difference to the local community!
With the end of term also came the announcement of Tutor Group of the Term! Congratulations to 7 Ramesses, 8 Pericles, 9 Pericles, and 10 Pericles for their hard work this term and winning a pizza party for their forms!
Notices
Year 10 theatre trip to see ‘An Inspector Calls’
Excitingly, the English department has acquired a large number of tickets to see ‘An Inspector Calls’ performed live at the New Wimbledon Theatre on Wednesday 28th May. This is a GCSE set text so Year 10 students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. Students and staff will meet at school at around 1pm and return around 7pm. Since the trip will take place during the half term holidays, students will need confirmation of availability from a parent or guardian to apply. Please fill out the form below to apply for a ticket for your child, and get in touch with Ms Rafalin via info@arksoane.org if you have any questions.
Applications close on Wednesday 8th January.