Principal's Blog - October 2016

Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,

Welcome to my first blog of this academic year and what an exciting start to the new school year it has been!

I have attached a copy of our 2015-2016 Highlights booklet, which is a huge testament to all the superb opportunities that exist at this school and the way things have started here so far this year, it looks like 2016-2017 will be another year to remember. The 2016 Governors’ 100% Attendance Awards and Governor’s Awards Evening, which were held on the 6th & 12th October 2016, respectively, were truly glittering occasions and wonderful showcases for everything we hold dear at Selby High School. As you will have seen from the news feed on the school’s website our students are, once again, doing some great things, so the next Governors’ Awards are set to be amazing and spectacular occasions!

The last few weeks have seen rapid progress in the new PE block build that is being undertaken at the school, the outer shell is almost complete and the roof is now in place. Internal spaces are now configured including not only the walls of the new changing facilities, but also the classroom spaces and offices. This week the underfloor heating pipes have been installed and over the next few weeks the floor screed will be poured. During half-term the door into the Sports Hall will be knocked through and the new viewing galleries will be opened up. Looking around the space it going to be a real assert for the school and a fantastic facility when complete. I have added a number of photographs, to this Blog, so that you can see for yourself the progress being made.

I would like to thank you for your support in getting the new school year off to such a fantastic start. The uniform standards have been truly excellent and students have, therefore, avoided unnecessary punishments, which deflect us from our main purpose of everyone securing top class results and achieving their full potential. Thank you for your support in ensuring your child(ren) are properly turned out for school, together with being ‘keen to treat others just like they would wish to be treated themselves’; a simple phrase, but such an important one for Selby High School. Moreover, students’ behaviour for learning needs to be such that it allows both them and their fellow students to make the maximum progress possible.

We send a large number of emails and letters, including numbered ones, out to parents, carers and guardians, but any communication system will only work well if people regularly check their messages. In this regard I should be grateful if you would check your emails at least twice a week, together with following us on Twitter@selbyhigh. The hyperlink to the school’s website is:

www.selbyhigh.co.uk

Top class home/school communications are critical so why not write a note to your child’s Form Tutor or Head of House to let us know what is going well or areas of concern that you may have. In addition, please use the Student Planner to provide a written explanation of any absences, but please also telephone the school on the first day of absence to let us know:

Telephone Number: 01757-244802 for reporting a student absence.

I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you of the importance of home learning, all students now have their homework set on ‘Show My Homework’ which is linked from the school website. All students can log onto ‘Show My Homework’ with their Google password. This website provides the information, resources and deadlines for all homework that has been set.

Consultation Day for Parents’/Carers’/Guardians’ will take place on Tuesday 13th December 2016. Don’t forget to book your appointment between 9.36am and 7.36pm, when the slips are issued. The length of appointments will be twelve minutes.

As you will be aware we hold parents’, carers’ and guardians’ support evenings each academic year and 2016-2017 will be no different. To date we have hosted very successful Year 7 literacy evening with a Year 7 numeracy evening taking centre stage after half-term on Wednesday 2nd November 2016. The annual Year 7 ICT/ CEOP evening, with regard to staying safe on-line, will take place on Tuesday 22nd November 2016.




Paul Eckersley
Principal


Important Dates for Your Diary

Monday 31st October	Training Day – School closed to students
Tuesday 1st November	School re-opens
Wednesday 2nd November	Year 7 Numeracy Evening
Tuesday 8th November – Tuesday 15th November	Book Fair in LRC
Wednesday 9th November	Year 11 Trip to see ‘Blood Brothers’
	Snozone Trip
Tuesday 15th November	Year 7 Enterprise Day
	Year 7 Reading Evening
Wednesday 16th November	Year 9 ‘YOLO’
Friday 18th November	Non-uniform day for Children in Need
Tuesday 22nd November	Year 7 ICT Evening
Thursday 24th November	Year 11 More Able Trip to Cambridge
Wednesday 7th December	Year 11 GCSE Ensuring Progress Evening
Thursday 8th December	Year 7 trip to see ‘The Witches’
Friday 9th December	Tracker 1 issued
Tuesday 13th December	Consultation Day
Wednesday 14th December	Lego Mindstormers competition
Friday 16th December	School closes for holidays (3.25pm)

PE block build

Principal's Blog - July 2016

Dear Parents/Carers/Guardians

 

Welcome to my last blog of this academic year. Once again, what a fabulous year it has been, but you already know that from the website and Twitter newsfeeds. Our Sports Day this week, which like the weather, was simply superb and together with the record number of Selby 4 Key students (449 students transported in nine coaches) who enjoyed an all-expenses paid trip to Flamingo Land, courtesy of the school, typifies the year we have just enjoyed! We will be publishing our 2015-2016 Highlights booklet at the end of September so don’t forget to look out for your copy. It is biggest and best in the history of the school!

 

Talking about the history of the school, of which we are really proud, we are launching the next chapter of that history, with the implementation of our new school badge, which recognises the school at the heart of the community that it is delighted to serve. In addition to the new uniform we also have new:

• Signage
• Letterheads
• Sports kit
• Logos
• Website
• Water bottles (all students will receive one in September).

Don’t forget to look out for all the changes, together with the staffing changes that are detailed in my separate July ‘Staffing Blog’.

 

We are already planning for 2016-2017 to be another year to remember. Talking about developments, we have started the construction of our new PE changing rooms and six new classrooms. This £1.2m facility will hopefully be finished in February 2017; watch this space and the website for updates as they happen.

 

I would like to thank you for all your support this year, because as we tell your child(ren), success is all about team work, and the part you play is critical. Discussing and clarifying issues with your child(ren) is an important daily routine. Occasionally, we have to deal with problems that have arisen as a result of misinformation that could have been avoided, if only students had engaged in a frank and honest conversation with their parents, carers or guardians.

 

In addition, we send a large number of emails, texts and letters including numbered ones out to parents, carers and guardians, but any communication system will only work well if people regularly check their messages – in this regard I would recommend checking your emails at least twice weekly, together with following us on Twitter @selbyhigh. The hyperlink to the school’s website is:

www.selbyhigh.co.uk

 

From the website, you can also download the school’s own Selby High School App together with the School Gateway App which allows us to send free text messages to you regarding your child(ren).  Both Apps can be found at:

http://www.selbyhigh.n-yorks.sch.uk/Ourschool/Selby-High-School-App/

The usual two-year calendar can, as always, be accessed via the school website. This is updated as things are added and amended so please make sure you check it regularly.

 

Once again, I and my staff look forward to your continued help in ensuring your child is properly turned out for school throughout the 2016-2017 academic year and ‘keen to treat others just like they would wish to be treated themselves’; a simple phrase, but such an important one for Selby High School. I am sure that when the students come together in their new uniforms in September they are going to look incredibly smart and ready to work at the level required for a successful future.

 

Learning today, leading tomorrow.

 

The daily maximum spend for students in Food4Thought will continue to be £4.50. If you are not doing so already, I would urge you to use our on-line ParentPay system to not only pay for food and drink, but non-uniform days, school trips and other events and expenses as they occur.

 

For your information the following are important dates for your diary during the first term of 2016-2017:

Friday 2nd September	School re-opens – Year 7 students only
Monday 5th September	School re-opens – all students
Monday 26th September	Shakespeare Schools Festival cast workshop
Tuesday 27th September 6.30pm	Year 7 Literacy Evening
Monday 3rd October	Training Day – school closed to students
Monday 3rd October 6.30pm	Open Evening for prospective parents
Tuesday 4th October	School re-opens
Wednesday 5th October 7pm	Year 9 and 10 More Able Raising Aspirations Evening
Thursday 6th October	100% Attendance presentation assembly
Tuesday 11th October	Shakespeare Schools Festival dress rehearsal and performance
Tuesday 11th October 5.30pm	Year 7 Reading Evening
Wednesday 12th October	Year 8 girls HPV injections
Wednesday 12th October 7.30pm	Governors Awards Evening at Selby Abbey
Tuesday 18th October	Year 9 ‘Re-start a Heart’ day
Tuesday 18th October 5pm	Year 7 Parents Evening
Friday 21st October	School closes for holidays

 

At Selby High School it is common practice for students and staff to look after each other ‘treating others like they would wish to be treated themselves’. I hope that even during the holiday this will continue to be the case.

 

Finally, all that’s left for me to say is ‘have a wonderful summer’ from all the Staff and Governors here at school!!

 

 

Paul Eckersley

Headteacher