Dear ALS Community,
As we ease our way out of the second lockdown, we find ourselves in Tier 3. For the purposes of school, this doesn’t change a great deal. We continue to provide the children with their normal curriculum and to keep them as safe as we can. Whilst I’m quite looking forward to places like the gym reopening, I’m also glad that we continue to have restrictions in place as this will, hopefully, continue to supress the virus and keep cases as low as possible to keep the children in school and learning. I know people will have different opinions but my priority is, of course, the happiness and learning of the children. Having had a few quiet weeks in the weekly communication, this one does have quite a few updates; I’ll try to be succinct.
Next week, we’re BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Radio’s (BBC CWR) ‘Star School’. Two of our pupils from Year 10, Elysia and George, will be interviewed live on the breakfast show at 8:40am and then throughout the week we’d love for parents and children to text in during the school run for a shout out starting from the Monday. Text 81333 starting the message “CWR Star School”. I’m going to award 5 house points for every pupil or staff member who gets a shout out that mentions both their name and their school house.
This week, it’s an Amicus mantra: Forgive mistakes; we all make them. As we have an Amicus mantra, I want to share a wonderful story about one of our Year 8 pupils. Maddie (a proud member of Amicus House), had been saving up for a new iPad by doing chores at home and saving up her allowance. She’d saved up a good amount to get started. Then, she heard about the shoebox appeal and reflected on how fortunate she is. So, Maddie, off her own back, went and spent her savings (around £100) on making a number of shoeboxes to donate to people who need it more than her. Maddie’s kindness, generosity and thoughtfulness is exceptional and I’m sure that the whole ALS community is proud to read such a story. For me, that’s ALS in a nutshell.
We are steadily growing (I may have mentioned it from time to time) and we are predicted to have around 320 pupils by September 2021. To support our growth, we are advertising for a School Nurse to come and join our pastoral team in school and lead on our wellbeing response for pupils which will cover both physical health such as first aid and medicine (via the School Nurse) and mental health (via the School Nurse and our School Counsellor, Mrs Clark). This is a fantastic opportunity and if you do know any qualified nurses, please do send them to our website to find the job specification.
We’ve had a concern raised by a member of the public around pick up and drop off. I know that securing a spot in the middle of Leamington can be challenge but if I can appeal for our community to be aware of the general public on pick up and drop off so that we do not block people in their drives or block off the road, that would be very much appreciated. I’m grateful for the much improved parking compared to last year - thank you.
I have to send an apology for not getting our future term dates out sooner. It just seemed bizarre to be thinking of a time when we can have assemblies and sports fixtures, residential trips and Christmas parties! Still, the provisional term dates for 2021/2022 can be found here. They are subject to change but I doubt there will be much movement other than for any potential errors being picked up. If you have any queries around the term dates, please do get in touch.
I have had the pleasure today of interviewing the first few candidates for Year 7 Scholarships for September 2021. On Monday and Tuesday I will (via the magic of Zoom) be interviewing our external candidates. It is always a wonderful thing to get to talk to children about their achievements, about their enjoyment of being at ALS and their hopes for the future. The effort that the children put in to their preparation for their interviews was impressive and I, along with my colleagues on the Scholarship Panel, will have a tough time selecting our future scholars.
Finally, I’d like to promote a charity initiative from our Parents Association (ALPA). ALPA are selling reusable festive facemasks that you can purchase from school. You can the leaflet for this here. Do take a peek and then purchase any festive facemasks you wish.
I’ve heard that Wales vs England has been called off on the weekend*. Therefore, there’s absolutely no need for anyone in the school community to watch the game. Wales certainly can’t get a 30-point drubbing** and I certainly won’t be moping about being miserable and getting told off by Mrs Preston for letting a match ruin my day. That will 100% not happen.***
*it hasn’t really.
**they probably will.
***it probably will happen.
Best wishes,
David Preston | Headteacher
November 27th 2020
