Dear ALS Community,
I hope this first weekly email finds you in good spirits and enjoying the first week back of term. Whilst it isn’t what any of us would have hoped for, we must make the best of the situation we find ourselves in. From our side, we have set out to provide a range of learning that supports the children (driven by following the timetable as much as possible with Live Lessons and wider support) and keeping in a rhythm for learning. I’m grateful to the number of parents who have contacted me - both from Senior and Junior - to send in a note of thanks for both the quality of the provision and for the speed that this was put in place. I’m really very proud of what the teachers at ALS are doing during this lockdown and it’s wonderful for you to be able to get an insight in to your children’s lessons at home, too.
Next week, our Heads of Houses (Mr Dobson, Head of Amicus; Mr Scott, Head of Dedicas; Mr Hawkins, Head of Veritas) will be announcing some House Lockdown Competitions covering English, Music, Drama, Art and STEM from Junior School through to the Senior School. Please do encourage your children to take part in at least one of the competitions. I’m particularly excited by our Drama competition (where a pupil will need to learn, record and submit a monologue from a character or their choice and explain how it fits with their house) as well as our Music Competition with a similar angle (where a pupil will need to learn, record and submit a performance). It’s rare during ‘normal’ times that children would be able to invest such time in the performing arts and if you are able to spend time supporting this at home I’m sure you’ll enjoy as well. I’m sure we would be open to submissions from the whole school community so whether you’re an Aunty, Uncle, Mum, Dad, Granny or Pops, if you’re particularly keen to enter don’t be shy (just make sure you know which house you’re entering for!). A virtuoso performance of Hamilton’s My Shot for Dedicas House? A solo piano performance of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata (1stmovement) for Veritas as it evokes a sense of reflection? I’m looking forward to helping judge the entries!
For this week, our mantra comes from Veritas: Be honest with Yourself First. Entering a further lockdown will not be easy and with a move to remote learning and working from home that will, no doubt, add some pressure at home. Whilst (hopefully) this lockdown will be just a few weeks and much shorter than the previous, we must take the time to reflect and be honest with ourselves in terms of how we are feeling. As adults, it’s important that we give ourselves the time we need to be at our best for the children. Similarly, for the children, it’s important we give them the time to reflect on what they are going through and the opportunity to discuss this. As it was for the last lockdown, I hope a little time spent considering one of our school mantras as a whole community is seen as good value to help us through the next few weeks.
Whilst we hope to provide a sense of surety for all children, it is especially important for our eldest. With examinations now cancelled for A Level and GCSE Pupils and an as yet undetermined assessment methodology being discussed, it is as important as ever that our examination pupils work hard towards their courses. Next week, our A Level and GCSE pupils will be taking their mock examinations under supervised conditions (dialled in via a call) with their exam papers being couriered to them this week. From there, we will ensure our pupils receive the very best teaching to keep their learning, spirits and motivations high as they move through the rest of this term and then the Summer Term. Good luck to all sitting an examination next week!
I want to close this relatively short weekly email with a note of thanks. We must thank the wonderful staff at ALS for their work over the past few weeks. With excellent provision in place (particularly given the short turn around for our Junior aged children), I know that our teachers and teaching assistants have shown the ‘Dedicas’ value in their approach. I must share particular thanks to the staff who have trained to lead our Covid-19 testing team. From Monday, we have had our testing regime in place and we have now tested all staff on site and we have also been testing our very small number of key worker children in the senior school. Colleagues in the testing team have quickly upskilled and worked to be part of keeping the school community safe. I am deeply grateful for this.
I hope you have a very lovely weekend. Baby is due next week - I’ll let you know if we have a new member of the ALS Community!
Best wishes,
David Preston | Headteacher
January 8th 2021
