Coronavirus Bulletin
Dear Parents, Carers and Students
I hope this bulletin finds you well. Who would have thought we were now in May with the wintery, wild weather we have been experiencing recently?!
Covid Rules in Schools
We await the Government’s announcement in a couple of weeks’ time to see when and if some restrictions in school can be lifted. We anticipate this will be in relation to the wearing of face masks and hope that we will soon also be able to move around lessons again. Whilst operating in bubbles, subject areas have lost a sense of identity and I am looking forward to staff being able to make rooms ‘their own’ again with vibrant displays and resources in situ. Fingers crossed, it won’t be long now….
Covid Testing
Testing continues to play an important role in our fight against Coronavirus and with this in mind students should continue to test themselves and report results both negative and positive. Reporting not only supports contact tracing in the event of a positive case but also assists understanding of community infection rates.
From today we will distribute further lateral flow tests to all staff and students and these will be available for collection during break time in the school hall. If any student is unable to collect their home test kits they can also be ordered online at:
https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests
Please continue to:
|
Please note: Lateral Flow Testing should be used for those who are not showing symptoms. Following a positive LFT test at home, a confirmatory PCR test should be booked online or by calling 119. Whilst awaiting the PCR result, staff or students and their close contacts should self-isolate. If the PCR test is negative, it overrides the self-test LFT test and the staff member/ child can return to school.
Mental Health Awareness Week 10-16th May 2021
This week is Mental Health Awareness week and there will be plenty of activities and discussions going on at school.
Alongside this, we have a section dedicated to well-being on the school website. There is a lot of information to support both students and parents / carers. It is split into different categories such as ‘anxiety and low mood’, ‘sleep’ and ‘mindfulness’: /pastoral-care/wellbeing
In WiSH (Well-being in School Hub) with Mrs Waring this week, students are looking at ways of coping when the going gets tough. Take a look at this website and the short film on the Home page:
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week?scrlybrkr=6057fa68
The Three Rs
Please can I can count on your support when ensuring your child remembers the Three Rs? Students sign a Home School Agreement at the start of Y7 but can often forget what they have signed up to at Altrincham College!
The Three Rs for our school apply from Y7 right through to Y13 and are as follows:
Ready to learn
- I will arrive to form and lessons on time
- I will have the correct equipment for my lesson
- I will be dressed in the correct uniform
Respectful of others and the learning environment
- I will allow others to learn – speaking and listening at the right times
- I will allow the teacher and other adults help my class learn
- I will use appropriate language when speaking and writing
Responsible for my actions
- I will prioritise my learning in each lesson above everything else
- I will complete classwork and home-learning to the best of my ability
- I will follow the requests of teachers and other adults to follow the simple, fair rules
Whilst we will always support a child/young person who makes a mistake in school and help them learn from those mistakes, we must ensure that all other students can learn and flourish too! One child’s poor behaviour choice can ruin the learning for 29 other students and this is not acceptable if it continues.
Staff Appointments
I am very pleased to announce that Mrs Hardy (Geography) and Mrs Witchalls (Maths) have been appointed as new Heads of Year from September! Under Mr Keegan’s leadership they will form part of a strong Pastoral Team whose aim is to support young people to learn and grow at Altrincham College.
Student Star of the Week
This week’s Star of the Week is Amy S in Y9! Amy has been selected to represent Cheshire Youth Cricket County Girls Under 15s for the 2021 season! This is an amazing accolade and one which makes all of us at Altrincham College very proud! Well done Amy!
Stars at AC!
And talking of stars….this week we have a very special visitor in school - the actress Michelle Keegan! She has kindly offered to come into school to work with our Drama students in an acting masterclass! This will take place after school on Thursday with Michelle coming back next term to work with the students further! We are very grateful to her for generously giving her time for our students - I am sure they will learn lots from this experience!
Stop the spread! Stay safe!
Have a wonderful week ahead!
Kind regards
Ms. Earle
Headteacher