Parent Bulletin 23rd March

Unbelievably we are already approaching the end of the Easter term and the pupils should be incredibly proud of all that they have achieved.  Yet another visitor commented this week: Ark Soane Academy is a wonderful place for young people to be educated. The pupils are polite, respectful and hardworking. The teaching is of an extremely high standard. 

Next Thursday (3rd April) will be our Exploration Day when all pupils will be offsite for the day and visiting attractions.  Please be aware that there will be a staggered start and finish time for each year group.

Next Friday (4th April) is our final day of term.  We will host a Rewards Assembly with all pupils and they will be dismissed after lunch.  A staggered dismissal will start from 12.45.  All local schools will be finishing for the holidays at a similar time so please ensure your child returns straight home at 12.45 and changes out of their school uniform at the end of the day.

School visit for current parents: If you would like to come and see the school in operation then please join one of our coffee mornings on 25th March or 2nd April: Coffee morning sign up

Arrangements for Eid:  Eid is expected to fall on Monday 31st March.  We wish all families celebrating "Eid Mubarak".  If your child will be absent from school then please send an email to absence@arksoane.org in advance.  In line with local guidance and due to the pressures of the school curriculum we are only able to authorise one school day of absence for Eid and look forward to welcoming celebrating pupils back on Tuesday 1st April.

I wish you an enjoyable remainder of the weekend,

Kind regards,

Mr Neuberger

The sun was out this week, and the students made the most of it. The year 8 boys had a double football fixture, playing Chelsea Academy and All Saints, and the boys took excellent wins in both! Man of the Match went to Adam (8 Ramesses) and Minato (8 Augustus) for their fantastic performances. The year 7 and 8 boys also had great fun in basketball club this week, soaking up the good weather. 

Soane's inaugural site squad made its debut this week, with Lucas T, Digby, Talid, Fred, Oishi, and Yasser R helping out the site team as part of their Duke of Edinburgh volunteering. It was great to see the school and the surrounding area looking so clean and the students making such a positive start to the day! 

There was so much joy in 7 Ramesses this week as the students had a fantastic lesson with Ms Mosely preparing their own microscope slides to observe onion cells. There was brilliant teamwork displayed throughout the whole class, and the students worked with such professionalism. Well done all! 

We strongly encourage all parents to buy a ‘brick phone’ rather than a smart phone for your child. This is to support the safety of your child online, to support their general wellbeing, and to prevent the risks of them carrying an expensive item to and from school. The academy is not liable for any loss or damage to mobile phones or any other item that students bring onto the school site. In the event of loss or damage, the academy will not refund or replace items, including phones.

At the end of each academic year, all Soane students go on two trips to celebrate the successes of the year, provide opportunities to build culture, and develop teamwork and perseverance. This is an important time of the year for our school community – your child must be in attendance on these days.

We are delighted to announce the end of year trips will be as follows:

• Year 7 – Go Ape Battersea and London City tour
• Year 8 – West Wittering Beach and Chiswick House & Dukes Meadow walk
• Year 9 – Thorpe Lakes Watersports and King’s College London
• Year 10 – Whitstable (students studying Geography)/Liberal Jewish Synagogue & Regent’s Park (students not studying Geography) and Gripped Hounslow

A letter has been emailed with further information for these trips, including costs. Go Ape, Thorpe Lakes, and Gripped require additional consent – please complete the Microsoft Form linked in these letters. Further details about timings for the school day for these trips will be shared in the parent bulletin closer to the time.

As a part of your child’s education at Ark Soane, we promote personal wellbeing and development through a comprehensive Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education programme. PSHE education is the curriculum subject that gives young people the knowledge to live safe, healthy lives. As part of this, schools have a statutory obligation to teach students relationships and sex education (RSE).

Thank you to the parents who attended the consultation on our approach to teaching this content on Mon 3rd Mar. Up to three terms before a child turns 16, there is a right of withdrawal from sex education. Lessons for Year 8, 9, and 10 will be taught in PSHE lessons from WC 28th Apr – WC 19th May; there is no sex education content taught in Year 7. It is our belief that effective RSE has a positive impact on self-esteem and enables our students to have a well-rounded view of relationships and sex that embeds a culture of both personal and mutual acceptance. It is essential that what is taught reflects the diverse society in which we live, and that all children have access to age-appropriate information free from stereotyping or discrimination to keep themselves and others safe. Due to the risks associated, we strongly recommend parents do not take up this right of withdrawal – if you wish to do so, please email info@arksoane.org for an initial conversation.

The last day of clubs for this term will be Wednesday 2nd April. Sign-ups for clubs for the summer term will be shared during WC 31st Mar.

If you need face-to-face assistance then the school office is open during term-time from 8am-4pm. So that we can deal with email enquiries promptly please see the school email addresses below:

• General Enquiries – info@arksoane.org
• Attendance - absence@arksoane.org
• Free School Meals - fsm@arksoane.org