18 October 2019

Image of Tarleton Academy Blog - October 2019

Welcome to Tarleton Academy's Blog of 2019-2020!

We started the academic year on a very positive note, with excellent exam results once again. Our incredible students made exceptional progress across a wide range of subjects and this success has undoubtedly been the foundation on which we have built upon during a very busy first half-term. (Results 2019)

Transition: Our Year 7 students have made an excellent start to life at Tarleton Academy. They arrived smartly dressed, smiling and very excited, if a little nervous, about their very first day. Now those fears that they may have felt have disappeared and they are moving around school confident and happy; like they had been here for years - never mind just seven weeks! This weeks 'Year 7 Personal Tutor Evening' was a really positive event and it was fantastic to see so many parents and smiling students, clearly positive about their first half-term at Tarleton Academy.

Parents’ Information Evenings: We would like to thank all our parents that supported our ‘Parents’ Information Evenings’ during the first couple of weeks of the term. We believe they are really important in setting out the year ahead and for giving parents the opportunity to bring any queries or concerns to our attention right from the get-go. If you were unable to attend or you have misplaced the handouts or would like to review the presentations use this link (Parents’ Information Evening Link)

Lunch Arrangements: We have made a tweak to our lunch arrangements this week to reduce the wait time in the Mersey Dining Room. For students purchasing hot food there will be two sittings which apply to the Mersey Dining Room service. On a Week 1, Years 7 & 8 will be on first sitting, whilst Years 9, 10 & 11 will be on the second sitting. The opposite will be true on a week 2. We have explained the process in assemblies and have written to parents last week to clarify the process. We will review its impact over the next half-term leading up to Christmas.

Classcharts: All parents and students have been issued access codes for Classcharts - a superb application which gives you a window into your child’s school experience. Over the first half-term we have developed its use to include messages to students and parents and after half-term it will also detail any detentions issued to students - hopefully something that will not need to be used too often! We wrote to you with more detail on this development prior to the half term holiday. (Link to Letters)

Social Media: I would like to mention our Twitter and Facebook pages, which are used as a vehicle to both communicate with you as parents and to celebrate the incredible talents of our students. (Facebook link and Twitter link). Our school website ‘Latest News’ section also celebrates the success of our students and staff! (News link)

Open Evening: The annual event was a great success and showed exactly what we are about - high standards, high expectations, strong relationships and knowing students as individuals so we can support them effectively. It was simply fantastic to receive such positive feedback about the student helpers and the infectious enthusiasm of the staff. We would like to thank all the prospective students and parents that attended. We know that the 2020 Year 7 students and their parents will have been visiting schools over the last few weeks. We advise all parents, when at all possible, to have a look around the schools they are considering, as all schools have good things to offer. Please remember prospective students and parents are welcome to come and see Tarleton Academy in action during a normal working day. Please contact Mrs Daly by email n.daly@tarletonacademy.org or by telephone on 01772 812644 to arrange a tour. The deadline for school applications is Thursday 31st October.

Goodnight Mister Tom: Rehearsals for Tarleton Academy’s annual production are well underway. Both Mr Ball and Mr McGuire have been bowled over by the numbers of students wanting to be involved this year. We are sure it will be another huge success. Make a date in your diary for Thursday 5th December or Friday 6th December. Tickets will go on sale as soon as we return after the half-term.

European Day of Languages & Macmillan Coffee Morning: Thank you to everyone who supported our Macmillan Coffee Morning on Friday 27th September. Combining the ‘European Day of Languages’ big bake off with the event was a great success! Merci, Gracias and a big thank you to the 26 student entries that were instrumental in helping us raise over £350 for Macmillan. Well done to everyone who baked, supported and purchased a treat - a great team effort!

The Reading Hub: We officially opened the reading hub on September 24th and the venue has become increasingly popular as the place to be during lunchtimes. It offers a great opportunity for students and staff to escape the hustle and bustle of the school day and enjoy some quiet reading at lunch time. We all know there is nothing like losing yourself in a good book and the skills developed through regular reading for pleasure have a significant impact on student’s progress across the curriculum. We actively encourage students to loan books on a regular basis and run a reward scheme for those that do!

PSHCE: Our first PSHCE Day on 1st October saw Year 7 looking at how to cope with peer pressure; matters of self esteem and how to make good friendships. Year 8 had visits from the fire Service and the Police (Crossing the Line - which has since been followed up with the ‘County Lines’ visit for Year 8 and 9). Year 9 addressed some difficult topics in terms of raising their mental health awareness, as well as being introduced to ‘Digital Health’ alongside Year 10 and 11. Year 10 were also introduced to Work Experience (link to key documents) whilst Year 11 began their college applications as well as having important sessions upon writing a personal statement; a visit from our alumni students; Shout apprenticeships and Southport College. It was a very busy day!

 

Student Leadership: The student leadership team held their first School Council meeting on the 7th October in the school hall. This was well attended by our 50+ school council representatives discussing agenda items upon Children in Need (18th November); how we can improve our lunchtime system and improving how environmentally friendly we are a as a school. The School Council will meet on the first Monday of every month and in our next meeting they will get involved in Parliament Week (2nd -8th November). The student leadership team also delivered assemblies to each house last week setting out their role to all students in school. This year we want to see our students developing their leadership skills across school; taking part in the SSAT Bronze, Silver or Gold accreditation and by being actively involved in making our school a better place - ‘Facimus Nostrae Futurae’ in action! (Tarleton Academy Student Leadership Team 2019-20) 

 

Residential Visits 2020: We have been busy since the start of term preparing for ‘Trip Week 2020’ which takes place from Monday 6th July to Friday 10th July. We will Be writing to parents and students after the half-term break with our offer which is likely to include the following:

 
Year Group  Trip Offer     
Year 7

Paris & Disneyland Paris

Year 8                                             Plas Menai - Outdoor Adventurous Activities
Year 9 

London Theatre Trip

Year 9 & 10

Battlefields - Belgium & France

Barcelona

Year 9 - Endeavour Learning Trust Trip to Iceland 2020 (trip takes place when students will be in Year 10)              

28th October 2020 -1st November 

Deposits required by Friday 1st November. Trip details have been sent to parents week beg 14th October. 

 

Head of School’s Award - September 2019 Winners: Well done to all the students that were nominated for the ‘Head of School’s Award’ for the month of September. The student’s achievement points have been added to their Classcharts profile for their nomination. As always it was a difficult decision to select the winners but I selected eight students from the numerous nominations for the month across a wide range of subjects. I am very much looking forward to see who Is nominated for October and I will no doubt find myself with another difficult selection process – a very nice problem to have!


  


Mack was absent from school due to a sports injury when I met and rewarded the students above, so I had to catch up with him at a later date!

 

 

Key dates for the next half-term:

 

Please find the key dates for the next half-term detailed below - remember that we return to school on Tuesday 29th October:

 

Event

Monday 28th October

INSET Day (School closed to students)

Tuesday 29th October

Students return to school (Week 1)

Thursday 21st November

Year 8 Personal Tutor Evening 5.00pm-6.30pm

Thursday 28th November

Year 11 Parents Evening 4.00pm-7.00pm

Friday 29th November

INSET Day (School closed to students)

Thursday 5th December

Goodnight Mister Tom Production Night 1

Friday 6th December

Goodnight Mister Tom Production Night 2

Monday 9th December to Thursday 19th December

Year 11 Practice Examinations

Friday 20th December

School Closes to students at 12.30pm (buses are arranged for this time

 

The school calendar can be accessed through the school website or through this link (School Calendar)

 

Finally,  we hope all our students, staff and their families have a fantastic break! Thank you for your continued support. We are already looking forward to the next half-term...

 

 

Mr M Cunniffe

 

Head of School

Tarleton Academy

Category: Tarleton Academy's Blog