September 2007 Newsletter
14th September, 2007
September 2007 Newsletter (enlarge photo)
Dear Parents,
At the start of the new academic year, I am sending you some important information for reference throughout the school year:
• A calendar of events [green sheet] as far as these are known at present. Please keep this safe because you will need to refer to it for term dates and consultations
• A homework schedule for Yrs7-9 [Yrs10-13 do not have a set schedule although we monitor their workload carefully]
There is also information on the public examination performances this summer in the form of analyses of results at GCSE and A level [blue sheet]. For a little more on this, please see the addendum to this letter.
The term has begun well and we shall all benefit from the work of maintenance and improvement undertaken over the holiday in both schools. We have welcomed new students - into Yr7, of course, and elsewhere, and a good number of Yr11s have returned into Yr12. Three new members of staff join the senior school: Mrs Manfredi for chemistry, Mrs Lievens for French and Miss Olsson for history. In the context of staff, parents may not be aware of some sad news we received in late July of the death of Mrs Jenny Walley, who retired three years ago after a number of years teaching in the junior school. I am sure she will be remembered with affection and in their prayers by those of you who knew her.
It was a great pleasure at the end of last term to pass on to parents various items of sports’ news. In the holiday, the success of 5 of our pupils in sailing under the auspices of the Welsh Yachting Association achieved for the school the trophy for “best school in Wales”. The pupils concerned were: Toby Collinson [Yr13], Henry Collinson and Gareth Henshall [Yr11], Jaimie and Daniel Whitely [Yr10 and Yr5 respectively].
Website A new website is now up and running and parents should be able to view it at www.st-gerards.org. We are very grateful to Yvonne Tsang who has undertaken this project and seen it through to such a splendid conclusion. Ideally, forthcoming events can be highlighted on it and ex-pupils will be able to contact us and keep in touch.
Uniform
I must thank both Mrs Cooper and Mrs Sauter for their organisation and handling of the uniform supply to parents this summer. They ambitiously took on to provide more items than in the past and delivered on all July orders in co-operation with Boppers of Colwyn Bay. Parents can contact the office to buy sweatshirts, polo shirts and items of sportswear throughout the year.
Absences
All pupil absence must be accounted for. A telephone call before 8.40 am on the day in question is the most effective way of notifying absence to form teachers and staff in general. As far as possible, telephone calls should be followed up by an explanatory letter. We are obliged to keep careful records of attendance and have to supply information to the Assembly every May/June in this regard.
Holidays in term-time
These should be avoided as far as possible. For any student in Yrs 10-13, they are plainly detrimental to progress. Parents have to consider carefully the nature and duration of such term-time interruptions and, where unavoidable, ensure absence is minimal.
Messages
The best way of ensuring messages are given to pupils is to telephone by 12.50 pm so that notes can be put in registers for form teachers to pass on. Please avoid contacting pupils via their mobile phones because use of a mobile phone is not allowed for any student below Yr11 and only then outside classtime. I realise the helpfulness of mobiles for students who travel but we take a harsh attitude to having schooltime disrupted by them and will confiscate items interrupting lessons. The office is the first contact for parents, please, so that we are aware of situations and can provide effective support in an emergency.
Access through the school grounds
At present, upper Bangor is particularly congested at the start and end of the school day. However, I must ask parents of senior students to avoid coming down the drive if at all possible in fair weather and not to stop at length outside the senior entrance. At the end of the day, parents of children in the junior school should not use the driveway to queue up before the gate onto the lane is open. This gate, closed during the school day for added security, is opened by the caretaker at 2.30 pm, in good time for the end of the day. I am very aware of the need to keep our pupils safe on the premises and parents can help enormously by following the advice above and driving through slowly and carefully.
Let us all look forward to another productive year in which all make the best of opportunities for personal and academic progress.
Yours sincerely,
Anne Parkinson, Headteacher
Addendum
A Level
At A level, the 26 Yr13s did exceptionally well with the average points score per student overall [346.5] the equivalent of AAB. All are moving ahead towards their goals in higher education at various universities in the UK. Degree courses include archaeology, engineering, law, medicine and physiotherapy as well as English, modern languages, geography and history. There were exceptional performances by Bodhi Hunt, who goes to Emmanuel Cambridge this year, and Lydia Songhurst, who will go to University College London.
GCSE
At GCSE, the three statistics below indicate the quality of the GCSE results for the whole cohort of 50:
• The overall percentage @81% of the highest grades [A*-B]
•The percentage of students @98% gaining 5+ A*-C grades and, within this,
•The percentage @ 90% who achieved 5+ A*-C including C+ in English, maths and science.
Exceptional performances with 10 or more A*s each were achieved by Gessica Howarth, Elise Songhurst and Lowri Walker.