9 September 2016 Dear Parents/Carers A warm welcome back at the start of a new school year at Wellfield. I hope that you have all managed to enjoy a break and spend some quality time with family and friends. Inspire New Year 7: Our new Year 7 joined us early on Monday morning looking very smart and ready for the start of their high school education. All Year 7 pupils then had their photographs taken individually and in their form groups. These will be available shortly for you to order from our photographers, Tempest. All remaining pupils in Years 8 to 11 re-joined the school promptly later on Monday morning and again I was generally impressed with their appearance and uniform conformance. However, I must draw parents’ attention to the uniform policy on the website particularly in relation to haircuts, make-up and jewellery. Overall, it is a great start to the year and thank you to all parents in helping get their sons and daughters ready for school. GCSE Results: This year our Year 11 pupils achieved their highest levels of progress after the change in Government measures for GCSE results this year. The new measure called Progress 8, which has been introduced fully this year, takes account of how well pupils perform across a wider range of subjects. I am also proud of our broad array of consistently high performing subjects including: English Literature, Spanish, French, Religious Studies, ICT, Business and Communication Studies, Art, Photography and Physical Education. I will also take this opportunity to thank our parents and families of our former Year 11 pupils for their support over the duration of their time at Wellfield and wish our Class of 2016 all the best in the next steps of their lives. Open Evening: We are quickly approaching our Open Evening on Tuesday 4 October, 5.00-7.30 p.m. The school will be closing early at 12.30 p.m. on this day to prepare for the event. Pupils will be able collect a sandwich for their lunch at break time on this day. If your child is helping out as a guide they will be required to be back at school for 4.15 p.m. in smart uniform. Key Stage 3 and 4 Parent Information Evenings: I would also like to invite parents to attend our annual Parents Information Evening to explain some of the expectations, demands and course/examination requirements for pupils in Key Stage 3 and 4 in this new academic year. We will also be sharing the various ways in which the school and parents can further support their pupils at Wellfield. The evening will take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday 22 September for parents of pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 and at 7 p.m. for parents of pupils in Years 10 and 11. The talks will last approximately 45 minutes and will be
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held in our theatre. We look forward to seeing as many parents there as possible. A letter will be sent out to all parents in due course. Challenge Duke of Edinburgh Award Update: Good luck to our current Year 11 Duke of Edinburgh pupils as they prepare for their final expedition on Friday 30 September – Saturday 1 October. Mobile Phones: There are some changes to how we expect pupils to use their mobiles safely and sensibly in school if they need to. All pupils will sign a mobile phone agreement and agree to a number of straightforward guidelines of which the changes are as follows: Our existing mobile phone zones are only to be used at lunchtime from September. Phones are to be used to phone or text and not for gaming, photos, music or social media. Mobile phones are to be kept in bags (not pockets of blazers or trousers) during the school day except if being used in a mobile phone zone at lunchtime. Smart watches which attach to mobile phones will also not be permitted in school. Misuse of mobile phones will result in confiscation until the end of the school day. If there is repeated misuse then parents may be asked to collect the phone from school. Extra-Curricular Activities: A copy of our autumn term Extra-Curricular activities and clubs is attached to this letter and is also available on our website. Nurture Wider World Day On Monday 19 September we will be holding our Wider World Day for Year 7 pupils. During the day we will have visitors from the North West Ambulance Service, Fire Service, Guide Dogs for the Blind and also a sign language instructor. The aim of the day is to develop pupils’ personal skills and they will hopefully learn some important skills such as life-saving, citizenship, teamwork and tolerance. Staffing: Miss Blakeley is now our Deputy Headteacher and we wish her well in her new role. Congratulations to Miss Blakeley, I know she is looking forward to the challenge that comes with the role. The school has also created opportunities for three of our teachers to act as Senior Teachers with specific responsibilities to further enhance aspects of the school improvement plan. Mrs Birkin will be supporting Achievement; Mr Lewis, Learning and Teaching and Mrs Starbuck, Pastoral Areas. We also have new staff in English, Mrs Hargreaves and Mathematics, Mrs Yates and we welcome you both to Wellfield. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your continued support of our school. Yours sincerely
Mr P Tolson Headteacher
Dates for the diary: Wider World Day - Year 7 Parents Information Evening
Monday 19 September 2016 Thursday 22 September 2016: 6 p.m. Year 7,8 & 9 7 p.m. Year 10 & 11. Early close at 12.30pm.
Open Evening 5.00-7.30 p.m., Tuesday 4 October 2016 Year 7 Parents Evening – 1
6 p.m. Thursday 20 October 2016
Autumn Half-term break
Monday 31 October – Friday 4 November 2016
Year 11 Parents Evening
4.30-7.00 p.m., Thursday 10 November 2016
School Closed – INSET 2
Friday 25 November 2016
Christmas Holiday close
12.30 p.m. Thursday 22 December 2016
Year 10 Parents Evening
4.30-7.00 p.m., Thursday 19 January 2017
Year 9 Parents Evening
4.30-7.00 p.m., Thursday 9 February 2017
Year 8 Parents Evening
4.30-7.00 p.m., Thursday 2 March 2017
School Closed – INSET 3
Friday 10 March 2017
Year 7 Parents Evening
4.30-7.00 p.m., Thursday 23 March 2017
For full list of Holiday dates and INSETs please see the Website
